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BV  3785  .M3  MS  1876 
Macpherson,  John,  1847-1902 
Life  and  labors  of  Duncan 
Matheson,  the  Scottish 


LIFE   AND    LABORS 


OF 

Duncan  Matheson, 


C5e  ^cottifi^  ©banffelifit 


BY    THE 


REV.    JOHN    MACPHERSON. 


'REALITY     IS    THE    GREAT     THING:     I     HAVE     ALWAYS    SOUGHT     REALITY. 


NEW     YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER    AND    BROTHERS, 

530  Broadway. 
1876. 


CAMBEIDGE  :  ST.  JOHNLAND 

PKESS  OF  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDRY, 

JOHN  WILSON  A  SON.  SUFFOLK  CO.,  N.  X. 


PREFACE, 


During  Ms  last  days  on  earth  Duncan  Matheson,  in  accordance  with  the 
wishes  of  his  friends,  set  himseK  to  write  an  account  of  his  own  life.  The 
effort  proved  too  much  for  his  enfeebled  health,  and  his  autobiographic 
notes,  stopping  short  at  the  beginning  of  his  evangelistic  course,  were  left 
in  no  fit  state  for  publication.  The  facts  recorded  by  his  own  hand  have, 
however,  been  embodied  in  the  present  memoir;  and  the  narrative  of  hi8 
conversion,  by  far  the  most  valuable  portion  of  his  hastily  written  notes, 
has  been  given  in  his  own  words. 

The  cases  of  conversion  described  in  illustration  of  the  work  of  grace  and 
the  success  of  our  evangelist  are  matters  of  fact  of  which  I  have  the  fullest 
knowledge,  most  of  the  individuals  concerned  being  personally  known  to 
me;  but  I  have  deemed  it  best  not  to  give  their  names.  On  similar  grounds 
I  have  also  in  several  instances  withheld  the  names  of  localities. 

Many  of  the  incidents  narrated  I  learned  from  the  lips  of  my  lamented 
friend ;  in  fact,  a  great  part  of  the  volume  has  been  derived  from  my  recol- 
lection of  the  man  and  the  work. 

The  best  narrative  of  his  evangelistic  labors,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  was 
contained  in  his  letters  to  his  wife ;  but  these  have  been  destroyed.  Vexed 
at  the  too  hasty  and  too  loud  trumpeting  of  results  on  the  part  of  some,  and 
convinced  that  thereby  the  Holy  Spirit  was  grieved  and  discredit  cast  upon 
the  work,  he  set  his  face  against  even  the  appearance  of  what  he  regarded  as 
a  great  evil,  and  for  several  years  wrote  at  the  foot  of  every  letter  giving 
account  of  his  labors,  "Destroy  this."  The  stern  decree  was  only  too 
faithfully  obeyed.  In  this  way,  doubtless,  he  preserved  a  full  consciousness 
of  the  purity  of  his  motives— no  Ught  matter  truly  to  a  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ;  and  however  we  may  regret  the  loss  of  the  letters,  we  cannot  but 
admire  the  self-denying  spirit  of  the  man  who  thus  deliberately  sacrificed  his 
own  name  at  the  shrine  of  his  Master's  glory. 

This  tribute  to  the  memory  of  my  truly  noble  friend  I  humbly  commend 
to  the  Holy  Spirit;  at  the  same  time  earnestly  entreating  my  Christian 
readers  to  pray  that  the  book,  as  an  echo  of  the  evangelist's  voice,  may 
prolong  his  extraordinary  ministry,  and  be  the  means  of  saving  many  souls. 


CONTENTS. 


Birth  and  Boyhood 5 

11. 

His  Youth  and  Conversion    ....        28 

III. 
Spiritual  Discipline 46 

IV. 

His  Evangelistic  Apprenticeship    ...         65 

Y. 

His  Mission  to  the  Crimea    ....         80 

VI. 
Days  of  Revival 174 

VII. 

The  Diocese  of  Open-air        .         .         .         .214 

VIII. 

His  Manner  of  Living  and  Mode  of  Working  .       284 

IX. 

Some  Sheaves  from  the  Harvest-field  .         .       320 

X. 

From  the  Furnace  to  the  Sea  of  Glass  Min- 
gled with  Fire 337 


LIFE    AND    LABORS 


DUNCAN    MATHESON 


CHAPTER    L 

BIRTH    AND    BOYHOOD. 

Duncan  Matheson  was  born  at  Huntly,  in  Aber- 
deenshire, on  the  22d  day  of  November,  1824.  This 
little  inland  town,  some  of  my  readers  may  not  know, 
is  the  capital  of  Strathbogie,  a  district  now  famous 
in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  Scotland  as  the  scene 
of  a  fierce  conflict,  some  thirty  years  ago,  between 
the  church  and  the  civil  power.  The  fame  of  that 
struggle  has  sounded  far  beyond  the  shores  of  Scot- 
land, and  its  issues  are  constantly  growing  more  mo- 
mentous with  the  revolving  years. 

Neither  the  village  nor  the  adjacent  country  pre- 
sents features  very  striking  or  interesting.  The  soil 
is  not  of  a  generous  nature ;  but  its  sons  have  devel- 
oped the  sturdiest  manhood  in  its  subjugation  and 
cultui-e.  The  climate,  rigorously  stern,  is  often  in 
winter  of  arctic  severity ;  but  the  keen  biting  winds 


6  His  Parents, 

seem  only  to  have  sharpened  the  people's  wits ;  the 
gloomy  sky  if  it  has  made  them  dour  has  helped  to 
make  them  sober-minded,  and  battling  with  storms 
and  drifting  snows  has  proved  a  good  training  for 
the  battle  of  life.  Bannocks  of  oatmeal  and  bickers 
of  porridge,  together  with  early  and  successful  con- 
tendings  with  that  great  army  of  strong  truths 
whose  leader  presents  to  every  young  Scot  this 
memorable  challenge,  "What  is  the  chief  end  of 
man?"  have  contributed  not  a  little  in  raising  up 
generations  of  strong,  free  men,  able  to  push  their 
way  and  hold  their  own  anywhere  in  the  world.  In 
fact,  hard  work,  coarse  but  wholesome  fare,  a  severe 
climate,  the  Bible,  the  church,  the  school,  and  the 
catechism,  have  conspired  to  develop  in  them  the 
tougher  elements  of  the  Scottish  character.  The 
inhabitants  of  that  north-eastern  province  are  as 
hard  as  their  native  granite,  as  stern  as  their  own 
winter,  and  of  a  spirit  as  independent  as  the  winds 
that  play  on  the  summit  of  their  lofty  Benachee. 
In  short,  the  people  of  Huntly  are  Aberdonians  of 
the  most  Aberdonian  type.  Shrewd,  hard-headed, 
rough-grained,  having  ever  a  keen  eye  to  the  main 
chance,  and  not  to  be  overcome  by  force  or  over- 
reached by  fraud,  they  are  a  people  pre-eminently 
canmj  and  Scotch. 

In  one  of  the  plain  homely  dwellings,  of  which  the 
Huntly  of  that  day  was  almost  entirely  composed, 
the  subject  of  this  memoir  first  saw  the  light.  His 
parents  belonged  to  that  better  class  of  the  common 


His  Parents.  y 

people  whose  intelligence,  industry,  thrift.  God-fear- 
ing uprightness,  and  honest  pride,  have  contributed 
so  much  to  the  prosperity  and  glory  of  their  country. 
From  his  father,  a  Ross-shire  man,  connected  with  a 
family  of  some  note  in  that  county,  young  Matheson 
inherited  the  Celtic  fire  which  fused  all  his  powers 
into  one  great  passion ;  whilst  from  his  mother  he 
seemed  to  derive  the  strong  good  sense,  the  irre- 
pressible wit,  and  boundless  generosity,  that  were 
among  his  chief  characteristics.  To  his  mother,  in- 
deed, as  in  the  case  of  many  other  men  who  in  their 
day  have  been  powerful  workers  of  good  and  uncom- 
promising enemies  of  evil,  the  boy,  the  man,  and  the 
Christian,  owed  more  than  pen  and  ink  can  set  forth. 
Her  loving  and  fervent  spirit,  her  wise  and  gracious 
ways,  impressed  and  captivated  the  warm-hearted 
and  ingenuous  boy ;  her  prayers  issued  in  his  conver- 
sion after  her  gentle  head  had  been  pillowed  among 
the  clods;  and  her  lovely  memory  glowing  in  his 
fancy  became  a  force,  not  the  less  mighty  for  its  gen- 
tleness, throughout  his  life.  So  true-hearted  mothers 
often  live  in  their  strong  sons,  the  little  quiet  rivulet 
somehow  begetting  the  great  broad  river.  Strong- 
willed  and  even  wayward  as  was  the  boy,  he  loved 
and  reverenced  his  mother  with  singular  devotion. 
The  father,  who  for  nearly  thirty  years  occupied 
the  humble  but  honorable  post  of  mail-nmner  be- 
tween Huntly  and  Banff,  enjoyed  but  a  slender  in- 
come ;  and  it  needed  all  the  diligence  and  thrift  of 
the  mother  to  keep  the  house  and  five  little  children 


8  Incidents  of  Early  Life, 

above  want.  They  had  their  pinching  times ;  but 
pinching  times  have  done  much,  under  God,  to  de- 
velop the  real  strength  of  Scottish  character.  In 
after  years,  when  Duncan  Matheson  had  taken  up 
his  father  Colin's  business  of  mail-runner,  with  this 
difference,  that  the  son  carried  letters  for  another 
King,  even  Christ,  and  ran  upon  a  longer  line  than 
the  Banff  and  Huntly  road,  olten  did  he  remember 
how  "his  poor  dear  mother  used  to  sit  till  midnight 
mending  and  making  their  clothes,  and  yet  the  beg- 
gar was  never  sent  empty  from  the  door."  Some- 
times the  brave  little  heart  gave  way,  and  the  child 
covering  his  face  with  the  bedclothes  would  sob, 
and  long  for  the  time  when  he  should  be  able  to 
aid  his  mother  in  the  struggles  of  life.  One  day 
coming  into  possession  of  a  small  piece  of  money, 
earned  by  running  a  message  for  a  neighbor,  he 
took  his  stand  at  the  window  of  a  little  shop,  which 
seemed  to  embrace  in  its  contents  all  that  was  de- 
sirable on  earth,  and  there  meditated  a  purchase. 
The  ginger-bread  men  riding  on  ginger-bread  horses 
did  not  much  tempt  him ;  nor  was  he  overcome  by 
the  little  shining  clasp-knife,  so  dear  to  the  heart 
of  boys.  Kemembering  his  mother,  he  invested  his 
money  in  tea.  Hastening  home,  he  secretly  depos- 
ited his  purchase  in  the  cupboard,  and  watched  till 
he  obtained  a  fall  reward  in  the  glad  surprise  of  his 
parent  on  finding  her  empty  store  thus  unexpect- 
edly and  mysteriously  replenished. 

The  lad  was  sent  early  to  school,  where  he  made 


School  and  the  Schoolmaster.  9 

rapid  progress,  his  love  of  books  being  fostered  by 
frequent  contact  with  the  teacher,  who  lodged  in 
the  house  of  the  Mathesons.  In  those  days  there 
were  two  schools  in  Huntly,  the  parish  school  and 
an  adventure  school,  between  which  there  was  a 
perpetual  feud.  Almost  daily  the  boys  met  in  bat- 
tle, and  young  Matheson,  whose  martial  spirit  was 
thus  early  stuTcd,  took  an  eager  part  in  the  fray. 
The  school  of  that  time  wore  an  air  of  awfiil  stern- 
ness and  solemnity.  The  thong  was  real  master. 
The  impression  made  by  the  opening  prayer  was 
too  often  sadly  undone  by  impression  of  the  leather^ 
as  it  fell  with  unmitigated  severity  on  the  tortured 
fingers  of  some  little  rebel.  Strange  scenes,  the  re- 
sult probably  of  that  undue  severity  of  government, 
were  sometimes  witnessed  in  the  school  of  those 
days.  A  stream  of  water  having  been  turned  one 
day  from  a  neighboring  lane  into  the  schoolroom,  the 
master  proceeded  as  a  matter  of  course  to  find  out 
the  author  of  the  mischief  Young  Matheson  was 
unjustly  charged,  the  real  criminal  having  turned 
false  witness ;  and  loud  protestations  of  innocence 
notwithstanding,  Duncan  must  be  flogged.  Here 
the  authority  of  the  master  failed.  The  lad's  sense 
of  innocence,  stimulated  by  some  other  feeling  not 
quite  akin  to  innocence,  roused  him  to  self-defence ; 
and  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  whole  school  the  scholar 
beat  the  master,  and  reduced  him  to  the  necessity 
of  a  truce. 

The  master,  who  was  an  earnest  Christian  and  a 


10  Moderatism  and  its   Teachings. 

preacher  of  tlie  Gospel,  did  his  duty  faithfully  and 
well ;  and  Duncan  Matheson  never  ceased  to  speak 
of  him  with  feelings  of  deepest  gratitude  and  estee-m. 
The  pains  taken  by  the  teacher  to  polish  that  rough 
but  genuine  Cairngorm  were  not  thrown  away. 

In  the  matter  of  religion  it  was  not  a  good  time 
in  those  northern  parts.  Moderatism^  which  means 
a  religion  without  earnestness,  a  form  without  life, 
and  a  Gospel  without  grace,  cast  its  deadly  shadow 
over  many  a  parish.  Light,  indeed,  was  beginning 
to  dawn,  the  spirit  that  moved  Chalmers  was  abroad, 
and  when  rare  opportunity  afforded  men  were  Hsten- 
ing  to  the  ancient  story  of  the  cross  as  if  it  were  a 
new  thing.  As  yet,  however,  it  was  only  dim  dawn. 
Strange  doctrines  were  given  forth  from  the  pulpit 
of  many  a  parish  church.  One  taught  the  people 
that  if  they  paid  their  debts  and  lived  a  quiet  life 
they  were  sure  of  reaching  heaven.  His  brother  in 
the  neighboring  parish  declared,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  nobody  can  attain  to  assurance  of  salvation 
until  the  day  of  judgment,  and  that  the  children  of 
God  generally  die  under  a  cloud — a  doctrine  he 
clenched  with  the  scripture,  "Whom  the  Lord  lov- 
eth  He  chasteneth."  A  third  publicly  stigmatized 
praying  people  as  hypocrites.  A  fourth  acknowl- 
edged his  dislike  of  preaching  by  calling  Sabbath 
"the  hanging  day."  Another  apologized  to  his  au- 
dience for  having  once  used  "that  offensive  and 
unpolite  expression  hdiy  Several  of  these  pastors 
were  famous  for  their  skill  in  agriculture ;  but  while 


Moderatism  and  its   Teachings.  ii 

they  kept  a  well-stocked  farm-yard,  their  scanty 
supply  of  sermons  grew  more  dry  and  mouldy  year 
by  year.  The  preaching  was  no  more  likely  to 
awaken  a  slumbering  congregation,  than  was  the 
chirping  of  sparrows  in  the  hedge  to  arouse  the  still, 
sad  sleepers  in  the  neighboring  kirkyard.  A  clear, 
full  statement  of  "the  finished  work"  of  Jesus,  as 
the  one  only  and  all-sufficient  substitute  and  sin- 
bearer,  was  seldom  heard.  As  for  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  the  people  were  no  more  taught  to  ex- 
pect comfort  from  His  fellowship  than  from  the  wind 
howling  among  the  forest  trees.  In  a  certain  parish 
contiguous  to  the  district  in  which  our  missionary 
labored,  the  minister  was  one  day  catechising  the 
people,  and  put  to  a  woman,  noted  for  the  then  rare 
qualities  of  earnestness  and  zeal,  the  question,  "How 
many  persons  are  there  in  the  Godhead?"  To  the 
astonishment  of  all  present  she  repHed,  "There  are 
two  persons  in  the  Godhead,  the  Father  and  the  Son." 
Again  the  minister  put  the  question,  and  this  time 
with  a  caution.  The  same  answer  was  given. 
"You  see,"  said  the  parson,  turning  pompously  to 
his  elders,  and  glancing  round  upon  the  people, 
"you  see  what  comes  of  high-flown  zeal  and  hyp- 
ocritical pretence.  This  woman  thinks  to  teach 
others,  and  herself  is  more  ignorant  than  a  child. 
What  gross  ignorance  I  Woman,  don't  you  know 
that  the  correct  answer  is,  '  There  are  iliree,  persons 
in  the  Godhead,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,' "  etc.    "  Sir,"  replied  the  woman,  "  I  ken  verra 


12  Moderatism  and  its   Teachings. 

weel  that  the  catechism  says  sae.  But  whether  am 
I  to  beheve,  the  catechism  or  yersel'  ?  We  hear  you 
name  the  Father,  an'  sometimes,  but  nae  aften  ye 
mak  mention  o'  the  Son ;  but  wha  ever  heerd  you 
speak  aboot  the  Holy  Ghost?  'Deed,  sir,  ye  never 
sae  muckle  as  tauld  us  whether  there  be  ony  Holy 
Ghost,  let  alane  oor  need  o'  his  grace."  The  minis- 
ter stood  rebuked ;  and  the  people  went  away  home 
to  discuss  and  think. 

The  Lord's  flock  was  scattered  on  the  dark  moun- 
tains. Some  were  wandering  in  a  wilderness  of 
perplexity;  some  were  sticking  fast  in  the  quag- 
mire of  earthliness ;  some  were  ready  to  perish  in 
deep  pits  of  deadly  error ;  and  sad  were  the  bleat- 
ings  of  the  sheep  and  the  lambs  as  they  pined  away 
in  want.  Meanwhile  the  description  of  unfaithful 
shepherds  given  by  the  prophet  Isaiah  was  realized 
to  the  letter.  "His  watchmen  are  blind;  they  are 
all  ignorant,  they  are  all  dumb  dogs,  they  cannot 
bark;  sleeping,  lying  down,  loving  to  slumber. 
Yea,  they  are  greedy  dogs  which  can  never  have 
enough,  and  they  are  shepherds  that  cannot  under- 
stand: they  all  look  to  their  own  way,  every  one 
for  his  gain,  from  his  quarter.  Come  ye,  say  they, 
I  will  fetch  wine,  and  we  will  fill  ourselves  with 
strong  drink ;  and  to-morrow  shall  be  as  this  day, 
and  much  more  abundant"  (Isaiah  Ivi.  10-12). 

But  amidst  the  Egyptian  darkness  there  was  a 
people  who  had  light  in  their  dwellings.  These 
were  chiefly  Seceders  and  Independents.     Amongst 


George  Cowie.  13 

the  godly  Dissenters  there  arose  at  this  time  a 
notable  preacher,  Mr.  George  Cowie,  gi'and-uncle  of 
Duncan  Matheson.  He  was  a  man  of  rare  hmnor, 
great  force  of  character,  and  mibounded  zeal;  quali- 
ties in  which  his  relative,  the  subject  of  this  memoir, 
strikingly  resembled  him.  Cowie  was  both  pastor 
and  evangelist.  When  he  began  his  work  in  Huntly, 
where  he  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  the  Secession 
Church,  he  received  a  baptism  of  reproach  and  per- 
secution. The  haters  of  evangehcal  truth  mobbed 
and  pelted  him ;  but  he  took  all  meekly,  and  though 
well-nigh  blinded  by  showers  of  dirt  and  rotten 
eggs,  he  turned  to  his  little  band  of  followers  and 
bravely  said,  "  Courage,  friends,  courage !  Pray  on ; 
the  devil  is  losing  ground." 

Many  who  thirsted  for  the  Gospel  came  from  dis- 
tant parishes  to  hear  this  bold  witness  for  the  truth. 
On  Sabbath  morning  you  could  see  them  gather  on 
their  way  to  Huntly ;  one  from  yonder  turf  cot  in 
the  mid-st  of  a  wilderness  of  peat  moss,  where  the 
only  sign  of  life  is  the  smoke  curling  to  the  sky ; 
another  from  a  little  farm  recently  reclaimed  from 
a  marshy  waste  which  anywhere  out  of  Scotland 
would  be  regarded  as  an  eternal  morass  ;  and  a 
third  from  down  a  lonely  glen  where  silence  is  sel- 
dom broken  save  by  the  cry  of  the  wild  bfrd.  Thus 
they  gather  from  their  native  mists  in  search  of 
light — broad-shouldered  men  with  blue  bonnet  and 
plaid,  thoughtful  matrons  with  Bible  and  Psalm- 
book  wrapt  in  clean  white  handkerchief,  and  neatly- 


14  Worship  in  Nature  s   Temple, 

dressed  maidens,  light-stepping  but  modest;  and  as 
they  journey  together  they  talk  of  the  things  that 
concern  the  King.  Reaching  a  little  well  at  the  way- 
side they  sit  down  and  refresh  themselves.  They 
need  this  rest,  for  they  have  come  a  long  journey, 
some  five  miles,  some  ten,  and  some  even  fifteen. 
A  drink  from  the  well  is  followed  by  a  draught  of 
the  pure  water  of  life.  With  the  blue  heavens  for 
a  canopy,  the  green  earth  for  a  carpet,  and  the  little 
birds  for  a  choir,  they  worship  God  in  that  great 
temple  of  nature  in  which  the  religion  of  Scotland 
has  oftentimes  been  baptized  with  the  blood  of  her 
children.  They  sing  the  twenty-third  Psalm.  In 
grave,  sweet  melody  their  hearts  go  up  to  heaven 
in  mingled  exercise  of  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  as 
they  repeat  the  most  familiar  of  Scottish  household 
words : 

"The  Lord's  my  shepherd  ;  I'll  not  want : 
He  makes  me  down  to  lie 
In  pastures  green  ;  He  leadeth  me 
The  quiet  waters  by." 

To  some  of  those  God-fearers  the  song  is  a  mat- 
ter of  faith  rather  than  of  feeling.  To  others  it  is 
a  spring  of  hope  and  expectation,  whilst  in  some 
hearts  it  stirs  joy  and  love.-  There  are  those  too 
who  as  yet  knowing  not  conscious  faith,  or  hope,  or 
love,  or  joy,  dimly  discern  the  beauty  of  this  holy, 
blessed,  childlike  worship,  and  secretly  desire,  al- 
most without  perceiving  in  themselves  the  desire, 


A  Highlanders  Prayer.  15 

to  know  the  happiness  of  that  people  whose  God  is 
the  Lord. 

When  the  Psalm  is  sung  all  heads  are  bent  and 
a  prayer  follows — such  a  prayer  as  we  have  heard 
among  the  heather  on  a  hill-side:  "0  God,  oor  souls 
are  jist  as  dry  as  the  heather :  oor  herts  are  as  hard 
as  the  granite  stane :  but  Thou  that  gi'est  the  draps 
o'  dew  to  the  heather,  gie  us  the  drappins  o'  thy 
grace  this  day,  and  let  thy  ain  love  licht  upon  oor 
hard  herts  like  the  birdie  sittin'  singin'  on  the  rock 
yonner;  an'  fill  the  souls  o'  thy  fowk  this  day  wi' 
peace  and  joy  till  they're  rinnin'  o'er  like  the  water- 
spout on  the  brae.  Lord,  it'll  be  nae  loss  to  you, 
an'  it'll  be  a  grand  bargain  for  us,  an'  we'll  mind  ye 
on't  tae  a'  eternity.     Amen." 

The  Haldanes  were  at  this  time  engaged  in  their 
noble  evangelistic  labors.  Mr.  Cowie  permitted 
James  Haldane  to  occupy  his  pulpit,  whilst  him- 
self remained  at  the  door  to  listen.  At  the  close  of 
the  service  the  minister,  convinced  that  God  was 
with  the  lay-preacher,  rushed  into  the  church  and 
invited  the  people  to  return  in  the  evening  and  again 
hear  the  stranger.  For  this  encouragement  given 
to  an  evangelist  manifestly  heaven-sent,  Cowie  was 
thrust  out  of  the  Secession.  But  he  was  not  the 
man  to  be  silenced.  His  faith  and  zeal  rose  to  the 
occasion:  he  went  on  preaching  and  laboring  for 
souls  as  he  had  never  done  before,  and  the  result 
was  the  formation  of  an  Independent  Church.  The 
light  spread.     The  torch  was  rudely  shaken,  but  the 


1 6  Rowland  Hill. 

flame  rose  upon  the  night,  and  many  afar  off  won- 
dered and  came  to  see.  In  barns  and  out-of-the- 
way  places  meetings  were  held;  and  often  in  the 
open  air  the  manly  voice  of  George  Cowie  was  heard 
calling  sinners  to  the  Saviour  in  terms  he  loved  to 
repeat — "There  is  life  for  a  look!  there  is  life  for  a 
look!" 

This  faithful  servant  of  God  was  consumed  with 
zeal.  He  was  sometimes  so  overpowered  with  a 
sense  of  the  value  of  souls  that  he  needed  to  be 
supported  by  the  elders  as  he  went  from  the  vestry 
to  the  pulpit.  Blessed,  surely,  are  such  ministers, 
and  highly  favored  the  people  who  enjoy  their  min- 
istry! Speaking  of  preaching,  Mr.  Cowie  used  to 
say,  "  Go  direct  to  conscience,  and  in  every  sermon 
take  your  hearers  to  the  judgment-seat."  One  day 
a  preacher,  who  occupied  his  place,  spoke  as  if  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  not  needed  by  either  saint  or  sinner. 
At  the  close  of  the  service,  Cowie  stood  up  on  the 
pulpit  steps,  and  solemnly  said,  "  Sirs,  haud  in  wi' 
your  auld  freen,  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  if  ye  ance  grieve 
Him  awa,  ye'll  nae  get  Him  back  sae  easy." 

Here  Mr.  Rowland  Hill  used  to  preach  with  all 
his  wonted  dash  and  power.  At  a  diet  of  catechis- 
ing, a  method  of  teaching  to  which  some  of  the  most 
valuable  and  characteristic  elements  of  the  old  Scot- 
tish religion  were  due,  the  English  evangelist  was 
present  and  put  a  few  simple  questions.  The  an- 
swers were  promptly  and  correctly  given  with  the 
superadded  request  of  an  old  man,  "  Gang  deeper, 


Wise  to   Win  Sozds.  17 

sir,  gang  deeper."  Mr.  Hill  having  expressed  his 
satisfaction  with  the  results  of  the  examination,  the 
aged  inquirer  asked  and  obtained  permission  to  put 
a  question.  "  Sir,"  said  he  to  Mr.  Hill,  "  can  ye  rec- 
oncile the  universal  call  o'  the  Gospel  wi'  the  doc- 
trine o'  a  particler  eleck?"  In  reply  Mr.  Hill  frank- 
ly admitted  that  while  he  held  both  the  doctrine  of 
election  and  the  universal  call,  he  was  unable  to 
solve  the  theological  problem  proposed  by  the  gray- 
headed  inquirer. 

Mr.  Cowie  exhibited  fine  tact  in  dealing  with 
men.  "  One  of  his  attached  hearers  was  the  wife  of 
a  wealthy  farmer,  who,  after  weeping  and  praying 
in  vain  for  her  imgodly  husband,  brought  her  grief 
before  her  pastor,  whose  preaching  she  could  by  no 
persuasion  induce  him  to  hear.  After  listening  to 
the  case,  Avhich  seemed  quite  inaccessible,  he  in- 
quired, '  Is  there  any  thing  your  good  man  has  a 
liking  to?'  'He  heeds  for  nothing  in  this  world,' 
was  the  reply,  '  forbye  his  beasts  and  his  siller,  an' 
it  be  na  his  fiddle.'  The  hint  was  enough:  the 
minister  soon  found  his  way  to  the  farm-house, 
where  after  a  dry  reception,  and  kindly  inquiries 
about  cattle  and  corn,  he  awoke  the  farmer's  feel- 
ings on  the  subject  of  his  favorite  pastime.  The 
fiddle  was  produced,  and  the  man  of  earth  was 
astonished  and  charmed  with  the  sweet  music  it 
gave  forth  in  the  hands  of  the  feared  and  hated  man 
of  God.  The  minister  next  induced  him  to  promise 
to  return  his  call,  by  the  offered  treat  of  a  finer  in- 
2 


1 8  Influence  of  Traditions. 

strument  in  his  own  house,  where  he  was  deHghted 
with  the  swelhng  tones  of  a  large  viohn,  and  needed 
then  but  sHght  persuasion  from  his  wife  to  accom- 
pany her  and  hear  his  friend  preach.  The  word 
took  effect  in  conviction  and  salvation;  and  the 
grovelling  earth-worm  was  transformed  into  a  free- 
hearted son  of  God,  fall  of  the  lively  hope  of  the 
great  inheritance  above."* 

This  good  and  faithful  servant  of  Jesus  Christ, 
loved  and  honored  over  a  wide  extent  of  country, 
died  and  left  behind  him  the  precious  legacy  of 
many  spiritual  children  bearing  the  likeness  of  his 
own  hearty,  thorough,  downright  Christian  charac- 
ter. Thousands  followed  his  body  to  the  grave,  and 
on  his  tombstone  were  inscribed  the  words  of  the 
prophet  Daniel,  "They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as 
the  brightness  of  the  firmament;  and  they  that 
turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  forever 
and  ever."  In  after  years  his  grand-nephew,  Dun- 
can Matheson,  when  newly  ushered  into  the  mar- 
velous light  of  the  Gospel,  used  to  kneel  beside  the 
grave  in  the  silence  and  solitude  of  night,  and  cry 
mightily  to  heaven,  praying  that  the  mantle  of  his 
venerated  relative  might  fall  upon  him,  and  that 
the  words  of  the  prophet  might  be  illustrated  in 
him  also.     That  prayer  was  abundantly  answered. 

We  are  strangely  linked  to  the  past;  its  tradi- 
tions, especially  such  as  come  to  us  through  the 

*  Life  and  Letters  of  Elizabeth,  last  Duchess  of  Gordon.  By 
the  Rev.  A.  Moody  Stuart. 


Duncan's  Early  Convictions  of  Sin.  19 

channel  of  flesh  and  blood,  go  far  to  make  ns  what 
we  are.  Though  the  Matheson  family  were  con- 
nected with  the  Established  Church,  they  had  strong 
leanings  to  the  godly  Dissenters ;  and  in  his  early 
life  Duncan  drank  in  the  story  and  teaching  of  his 
uncle  from  his  mother's  lips.  The  banner  which 
dropped  from  the  hands  of  George  Cowie  was  taken 
up  and  nobly  sustained  by  Mr.  Hill,  the  pastor  of 
the  Independent  Church,  and  ]\Ir.  Millar,  the  minis- 
ter of  the  Secession,  faithful  servants  of  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  indefatigable  labors  prepared  the  ground  for 
the  wider  sowing  and  richer  harvest  of  our  time. 
One  day  the  worthy  pastor  of  the  Independent 
Church  laid  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  the  boister- 
ously frank  and  manly  boy  as  he  romped  on  the 
street,  and  bestowed  upon  him  a  prayerful  blessing. 
Did  the  man  of  God  see  in  young  ^latheson  a  sec- 
ond George  Cowie,  and  even  then  separate  the  lad 
unto  the  Gospel  of  Christ  by  the  laying  on  of  be- 
lieving hands?  There  are  foretokens  of  a  man's 
future  that  find  no  place  in  our  philosophy.  At 
any  rate  the  susceptible  heart  of  the  boy  was  thus 
impressed,  and  he  used  to  follow  the  godly  minister 
upon  the  street  with  a  cinious  and  wondering  rev- 
erence. Throughout  life  he  never  forgot  the  gen- 
tle hand  laid  upon  his  head — the  blessing  and  the 
prayer. 

From  infancy  up  through  boyhood  the  good  an- 
gel of  conviction  never  ceased  to  follow  Duncan 
Matheson.     Sometimes  there  is  a  lull   of  unholy 


20  One   Who  Cared  for  His  Soul. 

peace ;  then  comes  a  disturbed  period  when  the  gra- 
cious Spirit  strives  with  the  rebel  heart.  Now  he 
seems  near  the  kingdom  of  God;  suddenly  a  back- 
wave  of  temptation  carries  him  anew  into  the  deep. 
Frequently  he  is  all  but  overcome  by  drawings  of 
invisible  love;  but  as  yet  young  flesh  and  blood 
prove  too  strong  for  these  gentle  touches  of  grace. 
One  evening  he  is  passing  along  the  street  and  hears 
the  sound  of  praise  issuing  from  a  cottage  where  a 
prayer-meeting  is  in  progress.  A  good  impulse 
carries  him  to  the  window.  Peering  in  at  a  chink, 
he  sees  the  faces  of  the  company  brightened  up  by 
no  ordinary  radiance,  and  as  he  listens  he  hears 
their  glad  voices  singing, 

"  0  greatly  bless' d  the  people  are 
The  joyful  sound  that  know  ; 
In  brightness  of  thy  trice,  0  Lord, 
They  ever  on  shall  go," 

His  heart  is  touched ;  he  wishes  he  were  amongst 
them  to  share  their  joy;  but  like  one  who  would 
purchase  a  pearl  were  it  not  for  the  greatness  of  the 
price,  he  goes  away  with  nothing  but  vague  long- 
ings and  hesitating  resolves.  These  feelings  do  not 
last  long ;  they  are  but  the  morning  cloud  and  early 
dew.  Next  day  he  is  a  very  ringleader  in  perse- 
cuting the  children  of  the  saints,  whom  he  mocks 
and  calls  by  opprobrious  names. 

A  special  interest  was  taken  in  young  Matheson's 
spiritual  welfare  by  James  Maitland,  an  aged  Chris- 


One   Who  Cared  for  His  Soul.  21 

tian  and  a  convert  of  Mr.  Cowie's.  This  old  disciple 
was  always  ready  in  his  own  quaint  and  homely  way 
to  testify  to  the  truth  and  grace  of  God.  When  a 
shallow  theorist  one  day  attempted  to  make  the  way 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  easy  to  the  flesh,  James 
said,  "  I  ken  verra  weel  that  a  human  faith  can  re- 
ceive a  human  testimony ;  but,  man,  dinna  ye  ken  it 
needs  a  divine  faith  to  receive  a  di^nne  testimony." 
To  another  who  paid  him  a  compliment  for  his  Chris- 
tian worth,  he  replied,  "  I  sometimes  wonner  if  I'm 
a  Christian  at  a' ;  for  ye  ken  we  ocht  to  lay  doon  our 
lives  for  the  brithren,  but  I  can  hardly  bring  mysel' 
to  like  the  cross-grained  anes."  He  kept  an  eye  on 
the  young  people  of  the  place,  and  his  wise,  loving 
counsels  were  not  in  vain.  To  a  lad  about  to  leave 
the  town  he  said,  "Young  man,  you  are  like  a  ship 
going  to  sea  without  compass  or  helm."  These  words 
led  to  his  conversion.  Maitland's  heart  was  much 
drawn  to  Duncan  Matheson,  in  whom  he  could  dis- 
cern not  a  little  of  the  natm-al  character  of  his  min- 
ister and  spiritual  father.  Duncan  strove  hard  to 
keep  out  of  the  old  man's  way,  but  being  sent  on  an 
errand  one  day  to  ^laitland's  house  he  was  fairly 
caught.  James  shut  the  door  on  himself  and  the 
boy,  and  began  to  tell  him  the  story  of  ]\Ir.  Cowie's 
conversion.  This  done  he  brought  the  conversation 
to  a  practical  bearing  by  asking  the  lad  about  his 
soul's  case.     The  answer  was  unsatisfactory. 

Then  followed  homely,  tender  words  about  "  God's 
wonderfu'  love  to  sinners,"  and  "  the  warm  hert  o' 


22  His  Mother  s  Instruction. 

Jesus yirnin' to  save," and  "the  kind  Spirit  strivin' wi* 
a'  his  micht,"  with  solemn  remonstrance  as  well  as 
touching  appeal,  not  without  effect,  since  conscience 
was  all  on  James's  side.  Duncan  went  away  very 
unhappy.  The  hour  of  decision  had  not  yet  arrived ; 
but  one  gun  on  the  rampart  of  unbelief  had  been 
spiked.  The  impression  made  by  Maitland's  faithful 
words  and  tender  dealings  was  never  wholly  lost. 
Speaking  of  this  period  he  says,  "  My  conscience 
often  pricked  me,  and  if  the  thunder  rolled  I  went 
to  prayer.  I  knew  only  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  used  it 
as  an  incantation  to  ward  off  evil.  If  I  saw  a  funeral 
I  trembled,  and  thoughts  of  judgment  pressed  hard 
upon  me."  One  evening  his  mother,  who  instead  of 
always  speaking  directly  to  her  childi'en  about  sal- 
vation, wisely  followed  the  method  of  reading  aloud 
from  some  interesting  book,  had  fallen  upon  a  well- 
known  illustration  of  the  endlessness  of  eternity. 
Suppose  a  little  bird  comes  once  in  a  thousand 
years  and  carries  away  a  particle  of  dust  from  yon 
lofty  mountain,  how  vast  a  number  of  years  must 
elapse  ere  the  huge  mass  has  been  entirely  removed ! 
And  yet  when  those  countless  myriads  of  years  have 
come  and  gone,  eternity  will  be  no  nearer  an  end 
than  it  was  at  first.  What,  then,  will  be  the  misery 
of  the  lost  in  the  place  where  their  worm  dieth  not, 
and  the  fire  is  not  quenched?  Such  was  the  impres- 
sion made  upon  tlie  boy's  mind  that  he  could  not 
sleep,  and  spent  a  great  part  of  the  night  in  weep- 
ing.    The  germ  of  truth  thus  lodged  by  a  mother's 


Dread  of  Future  Punishment.  23 

hand  in  the  heart  of  her  son  was  not  lost.  It  did  not 
indeed  result  in  his  immediate  conversion,  but  it  took 
hold  of  his  spirit,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  became 
a  great  power  in  his  soul ;  for  throughout  his  entire 
Christian  course  one  thought  was  never  absent  from 
his  view,  one  motive  never  ceased  to  work  mightily 
in  his  heart,  one  argument  never  failed  to  drop  from 
his  lips  with  amazing  power  on  the  ears  of  thou- 
sands, and  that  was  the  endlessness  of  eternity.  Lit- 
tle did  that  mother  dream  of  the  great  work  she  was 
doing  as  she  read  the  simple  illustration  in  the  hear- 
ing of  her  boy.  Little  did  she  imagine  the  vast  har- 
vest to  be  reaped  fi^om  that  seedling,  and  the  mighty 
forces  that  were  being  set  in  motion  by  so  gentle  a 
touch. 

The  dread  of  future  punishment  held  him  in  check, 
even  in  his  most  lawless  days.  "The  eternity  of  it," 
he  says,  "  more  than  any  thing  else,  awed  me,  and  if 
I  could  have  persuaded  myself  that  after  thousands 
of  years  the  torments  of  hell  should  cease,  I  would 
have  given  full  swing  to  my  evil  heart,  and  more 
madly  than  I  was  even  then  doing  would  have 
rushed  on  to  eternal  death." 

The  death  of  his  sister  Ann,  "  a  sweet,  holy  child, 
who  talked  of  Jesus  with  her  latest  breath,"  drew 
the  furrows  of  conviction  fresh  and  deep  in  his  al- 
ready well-ploughed  heart ;  and  as  he  stood  by  the 
grave,  "  the  dull,  muffled  sound  of  the  clods  drop- 
ping upon  the  coffin-lid  seemed  to  ring  into  his 
conscience  this  one  word,  Eternity." 


24  One  Step   Towards  the  Light. 

Sickness  followed :  it  was  another  gentle  messen- 
ger from  Him  whose  name  is  Love.  Many  thorns 
now  vexed  his  pillow ;  it  was  sovereign  grace  arous- 
ing him  from  his  dangerous  sleep.  A  host  of  evils 
seemed  to  surround  him;  it  was  a  host  of  angels 
sent  to  shut  him  in  and  chase  the  wanderer  home. 
As  yet  he  saw  not  the  Saviour;  he  saw  only  the 
clouds  that  are  about  his  throne.  The  darkness 
which  he  imagined  revealed  the  Avenger  con- 
cealed his  Eedeemer,  and  the  sounds  that  seemed 
to  his  awakened  conscience  to  be  the  roll  of  the 
chariot  wheels  of  death,  were  but  the  echoes  of  ap- 
proaching salvation.  Sometimes  he  would  bury  his 
fears  in  the  grave  of  good  resolution,  and  write 
upon  the  tombstone,  "By  and  by;"  but  from  the 
dead  his  convictions  would  arise  with  ghastly  hor- 
ror, and  then  his  wretchedness,  overflowing  its 
banks,  would  pour  itself  out  in  wrathful  torrents, 
making  the  whole  house  unhappy  and  even  afraid. 
They  knew  not  the  terrible  conflict  that  raged  in 
his  breast;  they  saw  not  the  misery  of  the  mad- 
dened spirit  wrestling  with  the  Almighty,  and  heard 
not  the  despairing  cry,  "  Would  God  I  had  never 
been  born?" 

Before  his  mind's  eye  one  great  truth  now  began 
to  appear  in  hazy  outline.  The  absolute  necessity 
of  being  born  again  was  beginning  to  take  hold  of 
his  thoughts.  It  was  a  point  gained — one  step 
towards  the  light.  Not  seldom  did  he  pray  God  to 
convert  him,  though,  like  Augustine,  he  was  fain 


Disrtiption  of  the  Chtirch.  25 

to  add  "not  yet."  Some  friends  perceiving  his 
talents  advised  him  to  enter  the  University,  and 
offered  him  a  bursary  on  condition  of  his  studying 
for  the  ministry — a  course  which  his  parents  ear- 
nestly desired  him  to  follow ;  but  he  refused,  saying 
with  characteristic  frankness,  "A  minister  ought 
to  be  a  converted  and  a  holy  man.  I  am  not  that. 
I  cannot  do  it."  When  he  and  two  companions 
were  urged  to  become  menlbers  of  the  church, 
straightforward  as  usual,  he  replied,  "I  am  not  con- 
verted, and  you  know  it.     G is  not  converted, 

nor  is  D .     We  are  on  the  brink,  and  you  would 

push  us  over.  You  would  have  us  go  to  the  Lord's 
table  in  our  sins,  and  then  on  Sabbath  evening  you 
would  pray  for  the  unworthy  communicants."  Turn- 
ing to  his  companions  he  said,  "Come  away;"  and 
as  he  went  out  of  the  minister's  presence  he  said  to 
himself,  "The  whole  thing  is  a  sham.  I  may  as 
well  be  an  infidel."  In  all  this  there  may  have 
been  a  lack  of  courtesy,  and  a  little  pride ;  but  he 
had  noticed  the  unfaithfulness  of  certain  pastors  in 
the  admission  of  young  communicants,  and  the  sad 
effect  on  the  communicants  themselves,  who  made 
a  pillow  of  the  Lord's  table  for  thek  deadly  slum- 
bers, and  his  honest  spirit  rebelled  against  what  he 
believed  to  be  an  unholy  sham. 

The  disruption  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  with  its 
stirring  events  drew  near.  Patronage  was  doing 
its  evil  works.  The  conflict  between  the  Church 
and  the  civil  power  was  becoming  more  fierce  and 


26  Preaching  of  Robert  M'Cheyne. 

•ancompromising.  A  minister  was  thrust  into  the 
parish  of  Marnoch  against  the  will  of  the  people. 
Duncan  Matheson  was  present  at  the  forced  settle- 
ment, and,  young  though  he  was,  warmly  sympa- 
thized with  the  Christian  flock,  whose  rights  were 
thus  trampled  under  foot.  The  scene  made  a  deep 
impression  on  his  heart.  But  not  until  he  submit- 
ted himself  to  the  Lord  Jesus  did  he  rightly  under- 
stand the  great  question  of  the  time — ^the  indepen- 
dence of  the  Church,  and  the  Crown  rights  of  the 
Saviour  as  her  sole  King  and  Head.  At  this  time 
able  and  faithful  ministers  of  the  Gospel  were  sent 
down  to  Strathbogie,  the  scene  of  conflict.  The 
word  was  with  great  power.  On  one  occasion  Mr. 
Moody  Stuart  preached  a  sermon  on  the  strait  gate, 
which  Duncan  Matheson  says  was  blessed  to  many 
souls.  On  another  occasion  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
dispensed  by  Mr.  Cumming,  of  Dunbarney,  and  Mr. 
M'Cheyne,  Dundee.  The  people  met  in  the  open 
air  and  sat  upon  the  grass  listening  to  the  word. 
In  the  afternoon  the  sky  darkened,  and  the  thunder 
pealing  overhead  added  an  awful  solemnity  to  the 
service.  In  the  evening  Robert  M'Cheyne  preached 
with  "Eternity  stamped  upon  his  brow."  "I  think 
I  can  yet  see  his  seraphic  countenance,"  says  Mathe- 
son, "and  hear  his  sweet  and  tender  voice.  I  was 
spell-bomid,  and  could  not  keep  my  eyes  off  him  for 
a  moment.  He  announced  his  text — Paul's  thorn 
in  the  flesh.  What  a  sermon!  I  trembled,  and 
never  felt  God  so  near.     His  appeals  went  to  my 


Grieving  the  Spirit.  27 

heart,  and  as  he  spoke  of  the  last  great  day  in  the 
darkening  twihght,  for  once  I  began  to  pray.  At  the 
close  he  invited  all  those  who  were  anxious  to  re- 
tire to  the  chapel.  Here  began  a  tremendous  strug- 
gle in  my  heart,  a  struggle  I  can  recall  as  if  it  had 
been  but  yesterday.     I  looked  to  see  if  my  special 

friend  D.  McP was  going  in,  but  I  could  see 

him  nowhere.  He  afterwards  told  me  he  was  look- 
ing for  me  with  a  like  desire.  Were  he  to  go  in,  I 
Avould.  Were  he  to  be  a  Christian,  I  would.  Slow- 
ly I  went  through  the  darkness,  and  reached  the 
chapel,  with  the  words,  'Quench  not  the  Sphit,' 
ringing  in  my  ears.  I  looked  in  at  the  window  and 
saw  many  there  I  knew.  I  hesitated :  I  approached 
the  door  and  looked  in.  Hastily  I  turned  back. 
The  die  was  cast.  The  tempter  whispered,  '  Anoth- 
er time.'     Alas!  alas! 

'  I  chose  the  world  and  an  endless  shroud. ' 

Oh  the  long-suffering  of  God !  Then  and  there  how 
justly  might  God  have  said,  'Let  him  alone.'  I  de- 
served it.  I  was  near  the  kingdom :  I  stood  trem- 
bling on  the  threshold :  I  did  not  enter  in.  My  case 
should  lead  no  one  to  presume,  not  one  in  thousands, 
perhaps,  in  such  a  state  as  mine  was — trifling  with 
God — is  ever  saved.  It  is  a  solemn  thing  to  say  to- 
morroio  when  God  says  to-day  /  for  man's  to-morrow 
and  God's  to-day  never  meet.  The  word  that  comes 
from  the  eternal  throne  is  noio^  and  it  is  a  man's  own 
choice  that  fixes  his  doom." 


28  DuncarHs  Choice  of  a  Calling. 

After  this  grieving  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Duncan 
Matheson  tried  hard  "to  forget  all  about  eternity, 
and  took  to  novel-reading."  For  a  season  he  seemed 
to  be  too  successful:  he  was  intoxicated  with  the 
vanities  of  fiction,  and  plunged  into  all  but  utter 
oblivion  of  God.  It  was  probably  owing  to  this  sad 
experience  that  he  never  ceased  to  deplore  the  inju- 
rious effect  of  novel-reading  on  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  the  young,  and  to  denounce  in  no  measured  terms 
the  conduct  of  Christians  and  ministers  who  give  too 
great  encouragement  to  indulgence  in  the  sensa- 
tional literature  of  our  day.  He  once  found  a  trashy 
work  of  fiction  on  the  pillow  of  a  dying  person.  No 
marvel,  then,  if  he  spoke  strongly  of  the  evil.  From 
Dreamland  into  Eternity — what  a  transition ! 


CHAPTER    n. 

HIS  YOUTH   AND   CONVERSION. 

The  time  had  arrived  when  Duncan  Matheson, 
now  sixteen  years  of  age,  must  decide  as  to  his 
future  calling.  His  education  was  good  for  his 
years,  his  talents  were  of  a  superior  order,  and  he 
might  have  entered  the  University  with  the  fairest 
prospects.  But  fond  as  he  was  of  learning,  and 
ambitious   of  rising  in  the  world,  the  conditions 


Apprenticed  as  a  Stone-Ctitter.  29 

attached  to  his  enjoyment  of  a  college  education 
were  such  as  he  could  not  accept.  He  was  uncon- 
verted, and  he  would  not  be  a  minister  because  he 
could  not  be  a  hypocrite.  His  novel-reading  had 
set  him  a  dreaming;  he  would  become  a  sculptor. 
The  mallet  and  chisel  were  his  fascination ;  Eome 
and  the  ancient  masters  rose  before  the  eye  of  fancy ; 
and  visions  of  success  and  glory  dazzled  his  view. 
But  how  is  he  to  climb  so  lofty  a  steep  V  He  boldly 
resolves  to  plant  his  foot  on  the  lowest  possible  round 
of  the  ladder :  he  will  begin  his  career  of  fame  as  a 
stone-cutter.  His  genei:al  talents,  and  in  particular 
his  turn  for  mechanics,  seemed  to  mark  him  out  for 
the  occupation  of  a  builder.  Accordingly  he  was 
apprenticed  to  a  master,  and  sent  to  hew  his  native 
sandstone  at  Kildrummie,  where  he  wrote  his  first 
letter  to  his  friends  at  Huntly.  Here,  as  he  tells, 
romance  is  quickly  changed  for  reality.  At  the 
end  of  six  months  the  stone-hewing  is  exhausted, 
and  his  master  sends  him  to  the  quarry.  This  is 
going  down  the  ladder,  not  up;  and  here  his  ap- 
prenticeship ends.  From  Kildrummie  he  goes  to 
Banff,  where  his  quick  parts  procure  him  employ- 
ment in  the  building  of  a  bank.  He  saves  all  he 
can  of  his  wages ;  and  although  his  mother  needs 
not  his  aid,  his  affectionate  heart  finds  an  unspeak- 
able joy  in  sending  her  all  his  savings. 

Whilst  he  is  hewing  stones  the  Divine  Worker  is 
busy  with  mallet  and  chisel  of  sharp  conviction  and 
providential  dealing  upon  his  rough  granite  nature. 


30  Leaves  Home  for  Edinburgh. 

He  would  be  a  sculptor,  a  builder,  a  worker  of  great 
works.  The  Master  of  all  masters  had  another  de- 
sign, a  better  way,  and  was  even  now  rough-hewing 
this  proud  spirit,  and  training  the  young  tradesman 
to  be  a  sculptor  of  souls  and  a  builder  of  God's  tem- 
ple. There  is  no  rest  in  the  young  man's  spirit ;  he 
will  not  have  religion,  and  yet  he  cannot  do  without 
it.  He  goes  to  hear  the  late  estimable  minister  of 
Banff,  Mr.  Grant.  The  subject  of  discourse  is  "A 
good  man."  Matheson  is  convinced  by  a  clear  state- 
ment of  the  truth  that  no  man  can  be  really  good, 
good  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  is  not  regenerate.  He 
next  goes  to  hear  the  venerable  John  Murker,  min- 
ister of  the  Independent  Church  in  the  same  town. 
The  preacher  is  that  day  reasoning,  like  Paul,  on 
temperance,  righteousness,  and  judgment  to  come. 
Trembling  under  the  word,  the  young  stone-cutter 
goes  away  resolved  to  hear  the  faithful  preacher  no 
more.  He  then  turns  his  steps  to  the  neighboring 
town  of  Macduff,  and  listens  for  a  season  to  Mr. 
Leslie,  the  late  earnest  and  devoted  minister  of  the 
Free  Church ;  but  in  vain.  What  he  really  sought 
for,  though  he  did  not  know  it,  was  a  Gospel  that 
would  give  him  rest  without  repentance,  and  sal- 
vation without  a  sacrifice  of  self 

Work  failing  he  returned  home,  bade  farewell  to 
his  father's  house,  and  carrying  Avitli  him  the  coun- 
sels and  prayers  of  his  mother,  who  was  then  in  de- 
clining health,  he  went  to  Edinburgh.  Here  he 
lodged  with  a  godly  couple,  who  he  says  did  all 


His  Fellow-Workmen.  31 

they  could  for  his  soul.  The  providential  hammer 
and  chisel  were  again  at  work,  and  the  Spirit  of 
grace  plied  him  in  various  ways.  He  must  needs 
sit  under  the  most  faithful  ministry  he  can  find,  and 
accordingly  goes  to  hear  Mr.  Moody  Stuart.  No 
sooner  is  he  seated  than  a  lady  enters  the  same  pew, 
and  leaning  her  head  on  the  book-board  engages 
in  secret  prayer.  Matheson  is  self-condemned ;  con- 
science upbraids  him  for  his  prayerlessness.  He 
is  now  at  the  preacher's  mercy;  the  truth  spoken 
with  faithful  plainness  and  holy  fervor  deepens  his 
unrest  into  anguish,  and  he  goes  away  saying  to 
himself,  "I  cannot  bear  this;  if  I  am  to  come  here, 
I  must  be  converted."  The  evil  spirit  of  unbelief 
triumphed;  he  resolved  to  return  to  that  church  no 
more.  During  the  rest  of  the  summer  he  entered 
no  place  of  worship,  but  spent  his  Sabbaths  in  walk- 
ing abroad  and  in  novel-reading.  He  dared  not 
open  the  Bible;  the  very  sight  of  it  pierced  his 
heart  with  an  indescribable  pang.  He  tried  hard  to 
avoid  every  thing  suggestive  of  eternity.  Daily  did 
he  flee  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord;  and  often  did 
he  rebelliously  banish  from  his  mind  the  thoughts 
by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  was  striving  to  draw  him 
to  the  Saviour. 

His  fellow-workmen  were  for  the  most  part  God- 
less, drunken,  and  dissipated  in  the  extreme.  But 
he  was  preserved  from  joining  in  their  follies;  he 
never  once  could  be  induced  to  enter  a  public-house ; 
and  he  was  often  shocked  and  saddened  at  the  ter- 


32  The  Never-failing  Monitor. 

rible  miseries  which  these  free-thinkers  and  free- 
livers  were  constantly  bringing  on  themselves.  If 
the  fear  of  God  did  not  restrain  him,  he  remembered 
the  prayers,  the  counsels,  and  the  tears  of  his  mother. 
When  about  to  err,  her  gentle  reproof  sounded  in  his 
ear.  In  his  sleep  he  seemed  to  see  her  beckoning 
him  to  the  way  of  righteousness ;  and  when  all  else 
failed,  one  monitor  never  failed  effectually  to  warn 
him  away  from  the  gates  of  evil ;  that  monitor  was 
the  remembrance  of  his  mother's  hollow  and  ominous 
cough.  It  is  told  of  Simon  Peter  that  throughout 
his  life  the  hearing  of  a  cock  crow  at  any  hour, 
and  under  all  circumstances,  caused  him  to  burst 
into  tears.  Such  was  the  power  of  that  one  look  of 
love  that  melted  the  sinning  disciple's  heart  and  re- 
claimed the  wanderer.  By  how  little  a  thing  can 
God  hold  fast  a  strong  man,  and  accomplish  a  great 
work !  From  the  day  he  parted  with  his  mother  till 
the  day  of  his  death,  Duncan  Matheson,  manly  and 
brave-hearted  though  he  was,  could  never  hear  the 
cough  of  the  consumptive  without  being  deeply 
moved.  The  cords  of  love  twined  by  a  parent's 
hand  around  his  heart  he  could  not  undo ;  and  it 
may  be  safely  asserted  that  except  the  grace  of  God 
nothing  is  more  powerful  than  the  wise  affection  of 
a  mother. 

One  night  he  was  induced  by  his  fellow-workmen 
to  go  to  an  infidel  meeting;  but  just  as  he  was 
about  to  enter  the  room  he  remembered  that  the 
eye  of  God  was  upon  him,  he  seemed  to  hear  his 


His  Mothers  Death.  33 

mother  s  counsel,  and  her  dying  cough.  It  was 
enough.  He  suddenly  stopped,  turned  back,  fled 
from  the  place,  and  went  home. 

When,  many  years  afterwards,  he  sought  for  his 
former  companions  in  toil,  he  found  that  "  most  of 
them  filled  a  drunkard's  grave;  not  one  of  them 
was  known  to  have  turned  to  God."  AVell  might 
he  exclaim,  as  he  did,  "  Oh,  the  wondrous  grace  of 
God  to  me ! " 

Although  careful  of  his  morals,  he  hated  all  close 
dealing  about  his  soul.  This  was  the  sore  part 
which  could  not  bear  to  be  touched.  On  one  occa- 
sion he  met  a  faithful  Baptist  minister,  who  put  the 
"one  thing  needful"  plainly  before  him;  but  young 
Matheson  adroitly  shifted  the  ground  by  raising  the 
question  of  Infant  Baptism,  which  proved  a  too  suc- 
cessful diversion  from  the  great  question. 

In  October,  1845,  he  was  called  home  to  see  his 
mother  die.  The  last  year  of  her  life  was  the 
brightest;  she  had  reached  Pisgah  and  could  see 
the  Land  of  Promise.  She  spoke  to  her  son  of 
Christ;  entreated  him  to  follow  the  Saviour;  and 
charged  him  to  meet  her  in  heaven.  Taking  his 
hand  in  hers  she  bade  him  farewell,  and  then  gen- 
tly fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  Again,  in  the  hour  of  grief 
divine  love  assailed  the  stubborn  heart,  but  as  yet 
the  only  result  was  a  resolution  to  arise  and  seek 
the  Lord.  The  noblest  affections  of  om-  nature,  and 
the  bitterest  sorrow  of  life,  alike  and  unitedly  fail 
to  bring  sinners  to  the  Saviour. 
3 


34  To  Die  or  be  Converted. 

After  building  a  house  for  his  fatlier  and  the 
family,  he  returned  to  Edinburgh  with  a  strange 
impression,  of  which  he  spake  to  his  fiiends,  that 
either  he  should  die  or  be  converted  there.  Thus 
the  all-wise  and  gracious  Spirit  condescends  to  seek 
admission  into  our  evil  hearts  by  the  lowest  door. 
By  putting  before  us  the  alternative  of  death  or  life, 
he  appeals  to  our  self-interest  and  our  fears,  if  by 
any  means  He  may  obtain  a  footing  within  us  for 
the  furtherance  of  his  merciful  design. 

In  Edinburgh  he  strove  to  forget  his  good  resolu- 
tions, and  went  on  much  as  before,  guarding  his 
morals,  shutting  out  conviction,  and  making  no  sur- 
render to  the  Lord  Jesus.  Bent  on  professional  suc- 
cess, he  gave  himself  to  the  study  of  drawing  and 
the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge,  with  praise- 
worthy diligence  improving  his  mind.  To  keep  his 
thoughts  occupied,  and  his  heart  quiet,  he  resorted 
to  Freemasonry,  which,  as  he  acknowledged,  did  his 
conscience  no  good;  for  he  found  the  freedom  not 
such  as  he  needed,  and  the  secret  no  substitute  for 
the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

One  day  a  discussion  on  the  evidences  of  the  truth 
of  Christianity  arose  among  the  stone-cutters.  Dun- 
can Matheson  was  the  champion  of  the  Bible.  The 
leading  sceptic,  beaten  in  argument,  assailed  reli- 
gion through  the  inconsistencies  of  its  Mends,  declar- 
ing that  Matheson  was  the  only  consistent  Christian 
he  had  ever  met.  This  compliment  to  his  external 
morality,  instead  of  pleasing  his  vanity,  aroused  his 


Self-Accusation,  35 

conscience,  and  he  secretly  charged  hhnself  with 
sheer  hypocrisy  in  defending  the  truth,  to  whose 
divine  power  he  felt  in  his  heart  he  was  an  utter 
stranger.  Another  day,  seeing  a  fellow-workman 
look  sad,  he  expressed  his  sympathy,  and  found  the 
man  was  distressed  about  his  sins.  Matheson  took 
him  aside,  and  although  himself  ignorant  of  the 
righteousness  of  God,  and  justification  by  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus,  directed  him  as  best  he  could  to  the 
path  of  life.  But  this  act  recoiled  on  himself,  and 
his  conscience,  now  constantly  awake,  began  to  up- 
braid him.  "  You're  a  hypocrite,"  said  he  to  himself. 
"  You  point  others  to  Christ,  and  all  the  while  you 
are  treading  the  way  to  hell  yourself"  Then  fol- 
lowed a  fierce  struggle  between  light  and  darkness ; 
his  soul  was  tortured  almost  to  madness — a  crisis 
was  at  hand. 

His  state  at  this  time  is  by  no  means  uncommon. 
On  the  one  hand  his  conscience  enlightened  by  the 
law  of  God  suffered  him  not  to  plunge  into  the 
pleasures  of  the  world,  whilst  on  the  other  hand  he 
knew  not  the  peace  of  God.  He  could  not  forget 
God,  and  when  he  remembered  God  he  was  troubled. 
Poised  between  heaven  and  earth,  as  it  were,  he 
had  religion  enough  to  make  him  careful  and  sad, 
but  not  enough  to  make  him  holy  and  happy.  Into 
infidelity  he  dared  not  plunge.  Two  convictions, 
like  two  unseen  hands,  held  him  fast.  The  one, 
firm  belief  in  regeneration  as  a  great  fact  essential 
to  salvation ;  the  other,  an  undoubted  consciousness 


36  MatJiesons  Ozvn  Story 

that  he  was  not  born  again.  As  yet,  however,  re- 
generation, if  an  acknowledged  necessity,  seemed 
a  dark  and  uninviting  mystery.  Thorns  and  briars 
of  the  wilderness  were  now  to  be  his  teachers.  He 
was  to  learn  the  way  of  salvation  in  a  fire  that  con- 
sumes every  thing  but  truth.  Let  us  hear  his  own 
story. 

"On  Thursday,  25th  Oct.,  1846,  being  the  fast- 
day  before  communion,  I  attended  Lady  Glenor- 
chy's  church,  where  I  heard  Mr.  A.  Bonar,  biogra- 
pher of  M'Cheyne,  preach  on  the  portion  of  the 
wicked  in  Psalm  xi.,  'Upon  the  wicked  He  shall 
rain  snares,  fire,  and  brimstone,  and  an  horrible 
tempest:  this  shall  be  the  portion  of  their  cup.'  I 
felt  as  he  proceeded  as  if  all  were  to  myself.  I 
dreaded  the  portion  I  was  about  to  receive.  I  knew 
I  deserved  it.  I  left  the  church  weeping,  but  tried 
to  hush  my  fears  by  fostering  in  my  mind  a  pur- 
pose of  being  converted  that  day  twelve  months. 
I  had  the  notion  that  I  could  be  converted  when  I 
liked:  I  had  only  to  begin  praying,  and  reading, 
etc.,  and  then  all  would  come  right.  Fatal  delu- 
sion! There  are  gales  of  mercy,  there  are  tides  of 
grace,  which  do  not  always  wait  for  us.  It  will 
always  be  man's  inconvenient  season  when  it  is 
God's  convenient  time.  I  was  afraid  to  return  to 
the  church  in  the  evening.  Satan  furnished  me 
with  a  pillow  on  which  to  sleep.  It  was  this :  '  If 
you  are  to  be  converted  you  will  be  converted; 
If  not,  you   cannot   help  it.'     I   took   the   opiate 


of  His  Conversion.  37 

greedily,  and  was  rocked  to  sleep  in  the  devil's 
cradle. 

"Many  strike  on  this  rock;  many  a  noble  ship 
has  been  dashed  to  pieces  here.  This  is  not  Calvin- 
ism, but  fatalism.  Can  the  husbandman  expect  to 
reap  if  he  does  not  sow,  or  the  sailor  reach  the  port 
if  he  does  not  spread  the  sail  to  catch  the  breeze  ? 
What  sick  man  would  say,  '  If  I  am  to  get  well  I 
shall,  no  matter  though  a  physician  be  not  called 
or  medicine  taken.'  Of  all  preachers  of  election, 
Satan  is  the  worst.  He  distorts  that  glorious  truth, 
the  first  link  in  the  golden  chain  of  man's  salvation. 
He  hides  the  blood  of  Christ  through  which  sinners 
should  behold  it.  He  keeps  out  of  sight  the  only 
decree  with  which  sinners  have  to  do,  viz.,  'He 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned.'  'You  are  not 
elect,'  said  the  adversary  to  a  sorely-tried  Christian. 
'Elect!'  replied  the  man  of  God.  'Have  you  seen 
the  book  of  God?  Liar,  get  you  hence;  I  have  had 
more  than  ye  ever  had — an  offer  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  I  have  taken  Him.' 

"Next  day  I  was  sad,  and  unable  to  smile;  but  I 
tried  to  conceal  my  state.  Sermon  after  sermon  rose 
to  mind,  and  my  dying  mother's  counsels  flashed  into 
my  heart.  When  the  church  bells  began  to  ring  on 
Saturday,  two  fellow-workmen,  G.  T.  and  M.  T.,  in- 
fidels, began  to  curse  and  swear,  blaspheming  espe- 
cially the  Lord's  Supper.  Shocked,  I  could  have  fled 
from  the  place ;  and  the  prayer  came  into  my  heart, 
'  Father,  forgive  them ;  for  they  know  not  what  they 


38  Matheso7i' s  Ozvn  Story 

do.'  Then  a  voice  seemed  to  say,  'How  do  you  take 
the  name  of  Father  into  your  lips,  seeing  you  reject 
Christ  ?  Your  hell  will  be  deeper  than  theirs ;  for 
you  know,  and  do  not.  God  is  not  your  Father: 
Satan  is.' 

"I  could  work  no  more,  and  I  went  home  to  pon- 
der and  weep.  The  arrow  was  driven  home ;  and 
this  time  I  did  not  seek  to  withdraw  it.  On  Sabbath 
morning  I  was  early  astir,  and,  Bible  in  hand,  was 
the  first  at  church.  In  serving  a  table,  Mr.  Bonar 
said,  'This  is  a  feast  of  love,  the  deepest  love.'  A 
voice  seemed  to  ask  me,  'Why  are  you  not  at  it?' 
My  heart  was  thrilled.  I  looked  round,  and  saw 
no  one.  The  question  drove  me  from  the  church, 
and  I  rushed  home.  Even  in  this  solemn  hour  I 
dared  dally  with  my  convictions,  and  went  to  see 
a  friend,  resolved  to  shun  the  church  lest  I  should  be 
tormented  afresh.  My  heart  was  too  full  to  con- 
ceal my  thoughts,  and  I  began  to  speak  about  re- 
ligion. The  topic  being  manifestly  disagreeable, 
I  left  the  house  with  feelings  of  wounded  pride. 
Eeaching  the  Calton  Hill,  I  looked  down  upon  the 
city,  with  its  thousands  of  gleaming  lights,  and 
upward  to  the  stars,  which  seemed  to  shine  most 
sweetly  upon  me.  I  felt  inwardly  urged  to  go  to 
church.  I  went  with  reluctance,  and  almost  not 
knowing  what  I  was  doing,  or  whither  I  was  going. 
I  became  desperate  and  passed  the  church  door, 
but  returned  as  if  some  invisible  power  moved  me 
against  my  will.     Again,  when  I  was  about  to  en- 


of  His  Co7iversion,  39 

ter,  I  tore  myself  away.  Two  powers  seemed  to  be 
lugging  me  hither  and  thither.  Again  I  returned, 
and  with  a  bound  crossed  the  threshold,  and  mount- 
ing the  gallery  stairs  took  my  seat  in  the  passage. 
I  felt  I  was  a  poor,  miserable  castaway.  The  ser- 
mon was  nearly  finished.  One  showed  me  the  text : 
'The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious, 
long-suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth, 
keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity  and 
transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means 
clear  the  guilty'  (Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  7).  Mr.  A.  Bonar 
was  preacher,  and  had  come  to  the  words,  'will  by 
no  means  clear  the  guilty.'  In  a  moment  I  felt 
the  burning,  piercing  eye  of  God  upon  me.  A 
mountain  of  wrath  seemed  to  crush  me  down ;  and 
hell  was  opened  beneath  me.  All  round  about  me 
seemed  to  be  on  fire.  Louder  than  the  loudest 
thunder  came  the  words:  'By  no  means  clear  the 
guilty ; '  and,  '  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth 
not  in  all  things  that  are  written  in  the  book  of  the 
law  to  do  them.'  The  congregation  was  dismissed; 
the  people  departed;  but  I  remained  fixed  to  the 
spot.  Some  as  they  passed  gave  me  a  look  of  pity. 
At  last  I  rose  and  reeled  home  to  my  lodgings,  real- 
izing with  awful  vividness  God,  heaven,  hell,  judg- 
ment, and  eternity.  Falling  on  my  knees  I  uttered 
my  first  real  prayer,  '  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sin- 
ner.' I  was  now  thoroughly  awakened,  but  I  was 
not  saved. 

"  When  the  eyes  are  opened  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 


40  His  Own  Story. 

how  differently  are  all  things  seen :  they  stand  forth 
then  in  then-  true  light.  I  saw  the  mass  around  me 
hurrying  unsaved  to  eternity.  I  wondered  they 
could  laugh.  It  seemed  to  me  like  the  condemned 
dancing  on  the  scaffold.  The  heavens  seemed  as  if 
clothed  in  sackcloth.  Wherever  I  went  I  felt  the 
burning  eye  of  God  upon  me;  and  the  threatenings 
of  the  Word  came  like  peals  of  artillery  in  quick  suc- 
cession. I  feared  I  should  drop  into  hell  at  every 
step,  and,  like  most  other  awakened  sinners,  I  began 
to  work  for  life.  The  language  of  my  heart  was, 
*  Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  Thee  all.' 
How  I  did  pray,  and  agonize,  and  suffer !  I  was  on 
the  wrong  track,  and  did  not  know  that 

'"Doing  is  a  deadly  thing, 
Doing  ends  in  death.' 

I  began  to  read  many  chapters,  thinking  that  would 
do  me  good.  I  prayed  all  day  long,  but  I  was  no 
better.  If  a  tear  started  to  my  eye  I  felt  proud  of 
it,  and  thought  surely  now  Jesus  will  regard  my 
case.  I  had  a  long  stair  of  seventy  steps  to  climb 
to  my  room :  at  every  step  I  uttered  a  prayer.  Like 
Luther  as  he  ascended  the  steps  in  the  church  at 
Kome,  I  groaned  out  a  petition  for  deliverance ;  but 
no  voice  came  to  me  saying,  'The  just  shall  live  by 
faith.'  I  labored  to  make  of  my  works  a  ladder  to 
heaven.  I  put  my  anxiety  in  place  of  Christ;  and 
instead  of  seeldng  the  One  to  be  believed  in,  I  set 
out  in  search  of  faith.     Many  a  weary  hour  I  spent 


A  Mistaken  Gtiide.  41 

trying  to  discover  what  faith  is.  I  read  all  the  books 
I  could  find,  and  searched  the  Word  of  God.  Faith! 
faith !  faith !  was  still  my  cry.  Oh,  if  I  had  faith ! 
The  Star  of  Bethlehem  was  shining  brightly  before 
me.  Jesus  was  standing  near.  He  was  uttering  hia 
voice, '  Look  unto  Me,  and  be  ye  saved.'  But  I  passed 
Him  by. 

"  I  went  to  a  minister  in  Edinburgh,  who  began 
to  tell  me  how  good  a  thing  it  was  to  be  awakened, 
and  with  a  view  to  my  being  comforted  applied  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  that  belong  only  to  the  people  of 
God.  He  urged  me  to  hope,  instead  of  bidding  me 
believe.  Thus  many  are  led  to  hope  they  may  be 
saved,  and  rest  there,  instead  of  obeying  the  com- 
mand of  God  to  'believe  on  Him  whom  He  hath  sent.' 
The  effect  was,  I  became  proud  of  my  convictions ; 
my  fears  were  hushed ;  for  some  days  I  felt  great  self- 
satisfaction  ;  and,  thinking  that  He  who  had  begun  a 
good  work  would  carry  it  on,  went  smoothly. 

"  Some  days  after  this  I  was  startled  by  finding 
my  heart  beginning  to  love  things  I  had  forsaken, 
and  then  came  the  terrible  question,  What  if  this  is 
false  peace  ?  I  felt  I  had  not  taken  hold  of  Christ, 
and  something  said.  Now  or  never !  noAv  or  never ! 
Make  sure  work  for  eternity ! 

"  How  few  can  deal  with  anxious  souls !  Here 
was  a  good  man  settling  me  on  my  lees,  taking  the 
children's  bread  and  giving  it  to  a  dog.  He  had  no 
right  to  give  me  any  promise  addressed  to  the  chil- 
dren of  God.     The  promises  are  all  yea  and  amen, 


42     Conversation  with  Christopher  Anderson. 

but  only  in  Christ  Jesus.  From  Genesis  to  Revela- 
tion the  promises  belong  to  the  Christian :  they  are 
his  in  Christ.  Many  have  gone  down  to  hell,  pillow- 
ing their  head  on  a  promise,  but  not  taking  Christ. 
The  good  man  was  wrong  in  applying  to  me  the  text, 
'  Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  He  which 
hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you  will  perform  it  until 
the  day  of  Jesus  Christ '  (Phil.  i.  6) ;  for  it  refers  to 
the  work  of  sanctification,  and  as  yet  I  was  not 
justified. 

"  Mr.  Cowie  used  to  say,  '  Some  get  such  a  fright 
at  Sinai  that  they  are  in  danger  of  running  past 
Jerusalem ; '  that  is  to  say,  the  very  depth  of  their 
convictions  may  prevent  them  from  entering  the 
kingdom,  for  fear  their  peace  may  not  be  right. 
So  it  was  with  me.  Fearing  lest  I  should  come 
short  of  eternal  life,  I  cared  not  what  happened  if 
only  I  might  be  really  saved. 

"I  sought  my  old  friend  John  Cameron,  who 
wept  in  his  sympathy  with  me,  and  took  me  to  his 
minister,  Christopher  Anderson  (Baptist),  author  of 
the  'Annals  of  the  English  Bible.'  This  devoted 
man  listened  to  my  story,  told  in  a  romantic  style ; 
for  I  spoke  of  my  sufferings  as  if  I  was  passing 
through  purgatorial  fires.  He  saw  I  was  lifted  up, 
and  said,  '  Young  man,  were  I  to  say  I  am  pleased 
with  you,  you  would  go  down  that  stair  in  a  happy 
frame,  but  you  are  yet  far  from  the  kingdom  of 
God.  You  have  never  yet  dealt  with  the  justice  of 
God.     His  justice  in  condemning  you  for  breaking 


Dawning  Light.  43 

Ms  law  has  never  yet  entered  your  thouglits.  I  see 
you  are  angry  with  God  for  not  giving  you  salva- 
tion as  the  reward  of  works.  But  it  must  be  grace 
from  first  to  last.'  After  a  few  words  he  told  me  to 
go.  I  thought  it  very  harsh.  I  seemed  cut  off 
from  all  hope.  I  reeled  to  the  door,  and  when  I 
readied  the  street  I  felt  shut  up  to  God  and  alone 
with  him,  and  exclaimed,  '  0  God,  it  shall  hence- 
forth be  Thee,  and  Thee  alone.'  After  this  I  desired 
that  every  thing  might  be  settled  between  God  and 
myself,  and  I  prayed  that  every  truth  might  be 
burnt  into  my  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"Wearied  and  anxious,  I  left  for  home.  A  great 
change  was  seen  in  me.  My  fierce  temper  was 
checked :  the  lion  had  thus  far  become  a  lamb.  All 
the  town  heard  of  it,  and  pitied  the  poor  lad  who 
had,  as  they  thought,  gone  mad.  Old  companions 
who  I  feared  would  hinder  me  never  came  near  me. 
Faith  was  still  the  prevailing  question.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin  I  could  not 
see,  and  I  rebelled  against  the  sovereignty  of  God, 
and  thought  He  dealt  hardly  with  me.  Slow- 
ly the  truth  in  regard  to  imputation  was  opened 
up.  Dimly  I  began  to  see  that  I  had  nothing 
but  unholy  thoughts,  words,  or  deeds,  and  that  for 
these  I  must  die.  I  saw  that  Jesus  only  had  holy 
thoughts,  words,  and  deeds,  and  that  these  were 
placed  to  my  account  the  moment  I  believed.  I 
wanted  a  righteousness  in  which  I  could  appear 
before  God,  and  slowly  Jehovah-Tsidkenu,  the  Lord 


44  Salvation. 

Himself  oiir  Eigliteousness,  shone  forth  in  all  his 
gloiy. 

"  I  was  standing  on  the  10th  December,  1846,  at 
the  end  of  my  father's  house,  and  meditating  on 
that  precious  word  which  has  brought  peace  to 
comitless  weary  ones ;  '  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life'  (John  iii.  16).  I  saw  that  God 
loved  me,  for  I  was  one  of  the  world.  I  saw  the 
proof  of  His  love  in  the  giving  of  His  Son  Jesus.  I 
saw  that  '  whosoever '  meant  any  body  and  every 
body,  and  therefore  me^  even  me.  I  saw  the  result 
of  believing — that  I  would  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.  I  was  enabled  to  take  God  at  his 
word.  I  saw  no  one,  but  Jesus  only,  all  in  all  in 
redemption.  My  burden  fell  from  my  back,  and  I 
was  saved.  Yes,  saved !  That  hour  angels  re- 
joiced over  one  more  sinner  brought  to  the  Saviour, 
and  new  songs  rang  through  the  courts  of  that  city 
to  which  I  had  now  got  a  title,  and  of  which  I  had 
now  become  an  heir.  Bunyan  describes  his  pilgrim 
as  giving  three  leaps  for  joy  as  his  burden  rolled 
into  the  open  sepulchre  of  Christ.  I  could  not  con- 
tain myself  for  joy.  I  sang  the  new  song,  salvation 
through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  The  very  heavens 
appeared  as  if  covered  with  glory.  I  felt  the  calm 
of  a  pardoned  sinner ;  yet  I  had  no  thought  about 
my  safety.  I  saw  only  the  person  of  Jesus.  I 
wept  for  my  sin  that  had  nailed  Him  to  the  cross, 


Telling  the  Glad  Story.  45 

and  they  were  tears  of  true  repentance.  Formerly 
I  had  set  np  repentance  as  a  toll  between  me  and 
the  cross ;  now  it  came  freely  as  the  tear  that  faith 
wept.  I  felt  I  had  passed  from  death  unto  life — 
that  old  things  had  passed  away,  and  all  things  had 
become  new. 

"  I  wondered  I  had  stumbled  at  the  simplicity  of 
the  way.  I  saw  every  thing  so  plain  that  I  longed 
to  go  and  tell  all  the  world.  I  felt  as  if  I  could  at 
once  convince  the  most  sceptical  and  the  most 
hardened ;  and  that  if  I  met  a  thousand  Manassehs 
I  could  say,  'Yet  there  is  room.'  I  went  every- 
where, telling  my  glad  story.  Some  even  of  the 
saints  looked  incredulous.  Others,  like  the  elder 
brother  in  the  parable,  did  not  like  the  music  and 
the  dancing.  They  had  never  left  their  Father's 
dwelling;  they  had  never  been  sin-sick,  and  knew 
not  what  it  is  to  be  healed ;  no  fatted  calf  had  been 
killed  for  them.  These  warned  me  against  enthu- 
siasm, and  exhorted  me  to  be  sober-minded.  One 
old  man  told  me  1  was  on  the  mount,  but  would 
soon  be  down  again.  Another  said  I  needed  great 
humility ;  but  I  went  on  singing  my  song.  Prayer 
had  given  place  to  praise,  and  night  and  day  for 
more  than  three  days  I  continued  to  thank  God  for 
'  his  unspeakable  gift.'  I  longed  to  die  that  I  might 
sin  no  more,  and  discover  more  fully  the  height  and 
the  depth,  the  length  and  the  breadth  of  that  love 
which  I  now  knew  'passeth  knowledge.'" 


46  Shadows. 

CHAPTER  III. 

SPIRITUAL   DISCIPLINE. 

"He  knoweth  the  way  tliat  I  take  ;  when  He  hath  tried  me,  I  shall  com© 
forth  as  gold."— Job  xxiii.  10. 

"  I  asked  the  Lord  that  I  might  grow- 
In  faith,  and  love,  and  every  grace; 
Might  more  of  His  salvation  know, 
And  seek  more  earnestly  His  face. 

"  'Twas  He  who  taught  me  thus  to  pray. 
And  He  I  trust  has  answered  prayer; 
But  it  has  been  in  such  a  way 
As  almost  drove  me  to  despair." 

You  have  seen  a  bright  week  of  too  early  spring. 
The  sun  has  suddenly  poured  down  an  unusual 
warmth.  The  brooks  and  streams  emancipated  from 
the  frost  begin  to  babble  afresh.  The  little  birds  are 
full  of  joy,  and  warble  a  welcome  to  the  genial  year. 
The  buds  are  swelling,  here  and  there  a  flower  peeps 
out,  and  the  first  tint  of  greenness  is  upon  the  earth. 
Unexpectedly  the  sun,  as  if  he  had  but  mocked,  with- 
draws his  smiling  favors ;  frost,  as  if  he  had  lain  in 
ambush,  returns  with  his  cruel  bonds ;  the  more  ad- 
venturous flowers  are  ruthlessly  slain;  the  birds  are 
dumb  with  amazement  and  sorrow;  and  all  the 
voices  of  nature  are  again  hushed.  Life  and  death 
are  now  fiercely  struggling ;  but  the  former,  though 
for  a  while  overborne,  at  length  wins. 


A  Season  of  Bondage.  47 

To  this  the  spiritual  world  is  not  without  its  par- 
allel. So  it  fell  out  in  the  experience  of  Duncan 
Matheson.  His  few  days  of  enlargement  and  joy 
were  followed  by  a  weary  season  of  bondage  and 
misery.  His  song  of  triumph  was  quickly  followed 
by  the  burning  thirst  of  unsatisfied  spiritual  desire, 
the  bitter  waters  of  a  ]\Iarah  experience,  and  all  the 
anguish  and  travail  of  the  wilderness.  It  was  as 
when  the  sun  has  just  arisen  upon  some  benighted 
traveller,  and  he  is  making  his  escape  from  ffearful 
dangers  amidst  dazzling  floods  of  light.  Suddenly 
again  it  becomes  pitch  dark,  and  night  without  a 
star  overshadows  his  path.  During  those  years  the 
young  Christian's  joy,  if  not  also  his  faith,  suffered 
an  eclipse.  Like  a  lamb  bleating  for  its  lost  mother, 
he  went  about  during  those  weary  months  bemoan- 
ing himself  with  piteous  lamentations  and  sorrow. 
But  a  fighting  faith  is  as  precious  as  a  resting  faith, 
though  not  so  pleasant ;  and  stern  battle  is  the  way 
to  victory. 

"Gradually,"  he  says,  "my  joy  began  to  abate. 
I  had  been  soaring  on  the  eagle  wings  of  praise, 
but  now  my  song  failed.  At  any  rate,  I  thought,  I 
am  free  of  sin ;  but,  alas,  I  soon  discovered  that  in 
my  flesh  dwelleth  no  good  thing.  I  could  see  two 
distinct  principles  at  work  in  me — the  flesh  and  the 
Spirit.  To  an  old  Christian  of  experience  I  com- 
plained that  I  was  dead. 

"  '  Dead  1 '  said  he,  with  a  curious  twinkle  in  his 
eye;  'you  are  a  curiosity.     I  never  heard  a  dead 


48  /;/  the  Wilderness. 

man  speak  before.  There  comes  nae  a  sigh  frae  a 
coffin,  and  they  never  cry  feich  in  the  grave.  Ye're 
nae  dead,  but  feehn'  deadness.  After  having  been 
dandled  on  the  knees  of  consolation  you  must 
be  weaned,  and  go  and  fecht  the  battles  of  the 
Lord.'  This  gave  me  a  little  comfort,  but  only  a 
little. 

"  Young  converts  live  more  by  sense  than  faith, 
and  they  must  be  taught  that  Jesus  Himself,  and 
not  the  comforts  He  gives,  is  their  life.  The  wean- 
ing time  is  a  critical  period;  then  it  is  a  man's 
Christian  character  is  stamped.  Skilful  teachers 
are  needed  to  show  the  workings  of  nature  and 
grace,  to  separate  the  precious  from  the  vile,  so  that 
he  who  begins  in  the  Spirit  may  not  be  led  away  to 
seek  perfection  in  the  flesh.  I  was  now  in  a  wil- 
derness, sorely  tempted  of  the  devil.  The  fountains 
of  the  great  deep  were  broken  up,  Satan  came  down 
on  my  soul  like  a  sweeping  avalanche,  and  I  was 
tempted  to  curse  God  and  die.  I  staggered  beneath 
my  burden  day  and  night  for  nearly  two  years. 
Terrible  were  the  fiery  darts  with  which  I  was  as- 
sailed. Horrible  and  unutterable  thoughts  of  God, 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  Jesus,  were  injected  into 
my  mind.  If  I  began  to  sing,  the  very  note 
seemed  to  be  changed  into  a  blasphemy  on  the 
tip  of  my  tongue,  and  many  a  time  have  I  had  to 
put  my  fingers  in  my  ears  and  my  hand  on  my 
mouth.  These  bolts  of  hell  caused  me  indescriba- 
ble anguish  and  sorrow,  and  never  till  I  saw  they 


Two  Years  of  Conflict.  49 

were  not  mine  but  Satan's  did  I  get  deliverance 
from  them. 

"Sometimes  he  tortured  me  about  election;  some- 
times he  suggested  that  my  former  joy  was  only  the 
joy  of  the  stony  ground  hearers ;  sometimes  that  I 
had  fallen  away,  and  that  according  to  the  Word  of 
God  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  chap.  vi.  4-6,  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  be  renewed  unto  repent- 
ance. The  dread  of  apostasy  hung  over  me  like  a 
sword  from  which  I  could  not  escape.  The  journal 
of  my  spiritual  life  I  burned,  that  there  might  be  no 
record  of  my  apostasy  left  behind  me.  Above  all,  I 
was  tempted  to  believe  I  had  cominitted  the  unpar- 
donable sin — the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost.  '  You 
have  blasphemed,'  said  the  tempter  one  day.  *Go 
and  take  your  fill  of  the  world ;  mercy  is  not  for  you.' 
I  left  the  house,  but  had  only  gone  a  little  way  when 
I  was  compelled  to  return.  Taking  up  the  '  Pilgrim's 
Progress,'  I  read  a  note,  which  said,  'If  you  have 
any  desire  to  be  saved,  if  you  wish  you  had  not 
sinned  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  you  have  not  done 
it.'     I  was  somewhat  relieved,  and  began  afresh. 

"When  I  struggled,  Satan  said  it  was  of  no  use; 
when  I  rested,  he  taunted  me  with  sloth,  and  said, 
'  How  can  you  get  the  blessing  when  you  are  sleep- 
ing?'  Sometimes  he  said,  '  Where  is  your  joy  ?  Are 
not  wisdom's  ways  ways  of  pleasantness  ?  Her  paths 
are  paths  of  peace.'  I  was  tempted  to  Atheism,  to 
Unitarianism,  and  was  continually  urged  to  take 
life  away.  Oh  the  agony  of  those  months!  I  suf- 
4 


50  The  Cross  and  the  Crown. 

fered  till  my  frame  was  sadly  reduced.  Often  did . 
hmTy  to  the  hill-side,  and  oftener  to  the  banks  of  the 
river,  and  my  weary  wail,  '  Oh  that  I  knew  where  I 
might  find  Him ! '  mingled  with  the  flow  of  the  dark 
waters.  But  never  was  I  desirous  of  giving  up. 
Eternity  was  stamped  on  my  eyeballs.  I  had  seen 
a  sight  which  dimmed  the  glory  of  all  else. 

♦*  'The  cross,  the  cross  !  the  Christian's  only  glory, 
I  see  the  standard  rise ; 
March  on,  march  on  !  the  cross  of  Christ  before  thee; 
That  cross  all  hell  defies. 

*•  ♦  The  cross,  the  cross  !  redemption's  standard  raising, 
I  see  the  banner  wave ; 
Sing  on  the  march,  salvation's  Captain  praising; 
'Tis  Christ  alone  can  save. 

"  'The  crown,  the  crown  !  Oh,  who  at  last  shall  gain  it? 
That  cross  a  crown  affords; 
Press  on,  press  on  with  courage  to  obtain  it; 
The  battle  is  the  Lord's.' 

*'I  had  now  and  again  sweet,  short  tastes  of  com- 
ing glory.  I  felt  as  if  I  could  have  struggled  cen- 
turies to  reach  the  goal  at  last.  '  I  was  persecuted, 
but  not  forsaken  ;  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed.' 
Though  for  the  most  part  I  groaned  out,  '  0  wretch- 
ed man  that  I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the 
body  of  this  death  ? '  yet  there  were  moments  when 
I  could  say,  '  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  ou»* 
Lord.'  Dark  indeed  was  the  night,  and  starless  th( 
sky,  but  hope  bore  me  up,  and  I  felt  an  unseen  hand 
supporting  me;  and  when  the  dark  vail  was  for 


Extracts  from  His  Diary.  5 1 

a  little  drawn  aside,  I  could  realize  the  verse  of 
Cowper — 

"  *  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform; 
He  plants  liis  footsteps  on  the  sea, 
And  rides  upon  the  storm. ' 

A  portion  of  the  diary  mentioned  above  escaped 
the  fire.  A  few  extracts  from  it  will  serve  to  illus- 
trate his  state  of  mind,  and  the  fiery  conflicts  through 
which  he  was  then  passing.  Perhaps  it  will  en- 
courage some  poor  struggler  to  hold  on  his  way 
through  fire  and  Avater  till  he  gets  into  the  "wealthy 
place." 

"January  2d,  1847.  When  I  awoke  in  the  morn- 
ing, all  my  thoughts  were  evil  and  good  mixed; 
evil  thoughts  preponderating.  Alas !  what  are  my 
thoughts  but  evil?  what  my  prayers  but  sin?  what 
my  desires  but  mixed  with  self?  Were  I  left  to  my 
own  heart  I  would  perish.  Throughout  the  day  I 
have  thought  awful  thoughts,  hard,  wicked,  unbe- 
lieving thoughts  of  God.  Satan  has  been  raging 
like  a  lion,  seeking  to  devour  me,  my  own  heart 
helping  him.  When  I  think  of  these  thoughts  I 
can  well  say  that  God  for  one  of  them  could  justly 
cast  me  off.  Prayed  much  for  the  Holy  Sph'it,  with- 
out whose  aid  I  can  see  and  do  nothing.  Tried  to 
rest  all  my  thoughts  on  Jesus,  but  it  is  hard  to  do 
so.  I  am  always  running  after  something  of  my 
own.    More  settled  just  now  (evening).    Very  much 


52  Prayer  for  Help. 

in  need  of  a  humble  heart;  clearer  views  of  Jesus; 
a  heart  to  acknowledge  God  in  all  things.  May 
the  Holy  Spirit  open  the  eyes  of  my  understanding, 
lead  me  and  guide  me  aright ;  for  left  to  my  own 
heart  I  would  go  astray.  Enable  me  to  cast  my 
care  and  burden  on  Jesus,  who  can  save  me. 

"January  3d.  Sabbath  morning.  Very  much  tor- 
mented with  awful  thoughts  which  I  shudder  at.  I 
have  a  fearful  heart  that  would  dictate  to  the  Creator 
of  the  universe.  Very  much  tormented  by  Satan, 
who  fills  my  tongue  and  imagination  with  curses  and 
blasphemies.  May  God  for  Jesus'  sake,  on  whom  I 
would  rely,  disappoint  him. 

"Went  to  church,  my  thoughts  wandering,  and 
very  wicked  thoughts  rising  up.  Heard  a  discourse 
from  Ps.  xix.  Set  my  secret  faults  before  my  face. 
Mr.  Millar  spoke  well  on  presumptuous  sin.  Alas! 
how  many  have  I  committed  even  since  the  Spirit 
awakened  me.  It  is  of  mercy  I  am  not  cast  off. 
Truly  God  is  long-suffering. 

"Prayer-meeting  in  the  afternoon.  Thoughts 
away,  but  rather  better  staid  than  in  the  forenoon. 

"  Evening.  Mr.  Hill  on  Psalm  xvii.  The  poor 
commit  their  way  to  God.  Very  good  discom^se.  I 
would  commit  my  way,  guilty,  weak,  and  unworthy 
as  I  am,  to  God  through  Jesus.  O  guide  me,  and 
give  me  grace  to  support  me  under  every  trial. 
Give  me  thy  Spirit.  Impart  thy  love,  dear  Lord 
Jesus,  to  my  heart. 

"January  4th.  When  I  awoke,  my  mind  con- 


A   Great  Conflict.  53 

fused,  my  imagination  going  after  every  evil.  Tru- 
ly the  thoughts  of  the  heart  are  only  evil,  and  that 
continually.  My  mind  throughout  the  day  was  a 
chaos  of  evil  and  good.  How  terribly  fallen  I  am, 
for  my  mind  is  enmity  against  God.  Awful  thoughts 
were  in  my  heart  against  Him.  A  great  conflict 
going  on  in  my  mind,  and  I  am  unable  in  myself  to 
submit  my  will  to  God.  Oh  that  He  would  in  mercy 
give  me  a  humble  heart,  to  see  and  acknowledge 
Him  in  all  my  ways,  and  to  submit  my  will  to  his ! 
I  find  it  a  very  difficult  matter  to  subdue  self,  my 
mind  even  taking  pleasure  in  confessions.  Give  me, 
0  Lord,  the  heart  to  ascribe  glory,  honor,  and  praise 
to  Thee ;  for  I  have  a  heart  that  would  say  or  think 
every  evil.  I  would,  guilty  as  I  am,  put  my  trust 
in  Jesus.  May  his  love  shine  into  my  heart,  that  I 
may  be  humbled  and  have  true  sorrow  for  sin. 

"  A  few  moments  this  evening  of  awful  interest. 
Satan  or  my  own  heart  is  always  putting  much  to 
my  prayers,  thus  dictating  to  God.  What  a  heart ! 
how  rebellious!  Teach  me  humility,  0  Lord.  Give 
me  a  meek  and  lowly  heart. 

"January  5th.  Confused  thoughts,  wicked  in  the 
extreme.  Yet  self-sufficiency.  I  cannot  check  my 
wicked  thoughts,  and  my  heart  is  very  unwilling  to 
acknowledge  God.  No  human  reason,  no  learning 
on  earth  can  give  me  peace.  Alas,  my  wisdom  is  a 
stumbling-block  to  me ;  my  thoughts  are  so  wicked, 
that  at  times  they  overwhelm  me.  Trying  to  trust 
all  in  Jesus,  but  I  see  it  must  be  a  divine  faith,  for 


54  Sjfggestions  of  Satan. 

a  human  faith  can  give  no  peace.  Went  to  prayer- 
meeting,  but  found  no  good;  yet  resolved  to  follow 
on  to  know  God.  0  Lord,  give  me  thy  Holy  Spirit 
to  reveal  thy  dear  Son  to  my  soul.  Give  me  a  hum- 
ble, broken  heart. 

"  '  O  may  tliy  Spirit  seal  my  soul, 
And  mould  me  to  thy  will, 
That  my  weak  heart  no  more  may  stray, 
But  keep  thy  precepts  still. ' 

"  30th.  The  worst  day  I  have  ever  had  with  the 
suggestions  of  Satan.  Yet  God  has  saved  me.  I 
need  to  be  humbled  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  I  have 
resolved  in  the  strength  of  Jesus  to  be  his.  .  .  . 
Eternal  life  is  worth  strugghng  for.  Lord,  make 
me  thine;  bend  my  proud  heart  by  thy  Holy  Spirit. 

"31st.  Sabbath.  Thoughts  mixed  —  good  and 
evil.  .  .  .  Temptations  and  suggestions  of  Sa- 
tan. Heard  a  sermon  on  the  joys  of  heaven ;  was 
benefited,  and  quickened  to  go  forward.  Tempta- 
tions are  my  grievous  lot,  but  what  are  they  all  con- 
pared  with  the  joys  laid  up  for  those  that  are  tried 
and  faithful? 

"February  4th.  Seeing  more  and  more  of  my 
heart  every  day.  Oh  that  I  had  faith  to  lean  on 
Jesus. 

"  7th.  Went  to  church  ;  but  oh,  what  corruption — 
what  sin !  How  many  idle  thoughts.  Nothing  but 
sin  in  my  heart.  Meditation  on  the  Avords  of  Jesus, 
'Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from 


Realities.  55 

me.'  This  should  strip  us  of  all  self-righteousness.  O 
Lord,  give  me  a  heart  to  love  Thee  above  all  earthly 
things." 

Thus  far  the  journal  of  the  conflict.  During  this 
dreary  period  Duncan  Matheson  was  learning  the 
most  difficult  of  lessons — "the  just  shall  live  by 
faith."  Mark  the  goodness  of  God.  He  was  re- 
freshed at  the  well  before  he  began  to  ascend  the 
Hill  Difficulty.  Ere  he  entered  that  dark  Valley  of 
Humiliation  and  engaged  in  fierce  conflict  with 
ApoUyon,  he  was  girded  with  truth  and  clad  in 
mail.  In  his  worst  thnes  he  could  remember  the 
Lord  from  "  the  land  of  Jordan  and  of  the  Hermon- 
ites,  from  the  hill  Mizar ;  "  the  memory  of  his  three 
happy,  triumphant  days,  sustained  him,  and  al- 
though deep  was  calling  unto  deep,  he  could  still 
hope  in  God.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the  tried  saint  is 
kept  from  utter  apostasy  and  atheism  by  the  memory 
of  a  sweet  experience  on  the  Mount  of  Communion. 

As  yet  it  was  only  the  dawn  of  grace.  Night  was 
passing  arid  the  day  was  coming  in,  though  slowly 
and  with  clouds.  In  rude  but  majestic  outline,  in- 
visible things  were  coming  to  view.  He  sees  God; 
God  is  real.  He  is  dealing  with  God,  but  God  in  his 
holiness  rather  than  God  in  his  love.  He  sees  Jesus ; 
but  it  is  not  so  much  Jesus  revealed  in  the  glass  of 
the  Word  that  he  sees,  as  the  image  of  Jesus  faintly 
reflected  on  the  troubled  waters  of  his  own  heart. 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  real ;  but  he  marks  his  own  griev- 
ing of  the  Spirit,  rather  than  the  Sphit's  graciousness 


56  The  School  of  Christ, 

to  him.  Satan  has  become  real,  near,  and  terrible; 
but  he  is  not  yet  seen  as  vanquished  in  the  cross. 
Sin  in  its  guilt  and  power  is  now  to  him  a  gigantic 
Upas,  on  whose  branch  his  harp  is  hanging,  and 
under  whose  shadow  he  seems  doomed  to  sit,  and 
weep,  and  die.  Mark  how  the  valiant  struggler 
divides  his  charges  between  the  devil  and  his  own 
heart,  giving  to  each  a  fair  portion  of  the  blame.  He 
who  knows  sin  knows  also  the  devil ;  fools,  knowing 
neither,  make  a  mock  of  both.  When  a  man  is  pass- 
ing through  this  stage  of  religious  experience,  an 
awful,  eternal  importance  attaches  to  the  minutest 
element  of  his  existence.  He  weighs  his  thoughts 
in  a  balance.  He  measures  his  feelings,  affections, 
and  motives  by  the  broad  standard  of  divine  perfec- 
tion. His  words  are  not  mere  empty  sounds,  but 
winged  messengers  going  before  to  judgment ;  and 
all  his  steps  leave  their  impress  on  conscience  one 
by  one. 

Those  two  years  were  spent  on  the  hardest  bench 
in  Christ's  school.  That  lowly  seat  of  spiritual  dis- 
cipline has  been  occupied  in  turns  by  all  the  most 
distinguished  servants  of  God.  During  the  years 
preceding  his  conversion,  he  had  been  taught  the 
mad  and  desperate  opposition  of  the  natural  man  to 
the  grace  of  God.  Now  he  learned  how  the  flesh 
lusts  against  the  Spirit ;  how  legalism  counterworks 
grace  in  the  believer's  heart ;  how  it  fetters  the  liber 
ty,  mars  the  joy,  hinders  the  progress,  disfigures  the 
character,  and  lessens  or  even  destroys  the  usefulness 


God's  Schools.  57 

of  the  Christian.  To  one  who  was  to  teach  mnlti- 
tudes  the  true  way,  all  that  painful  experience  was 
of  prime  importance.  His  mistakes  shonld  save 
many  from  similar  errors ;  his  miseries  should  dimin- 
ish the  misery  of  others.  Om*  bitterest  trials  are  our 
best  lessons.  Joseph  studied  statesmanship  in  prison. 
Moses  found  a  Divinity  Hall  in  the  back  side  of  the 
desert.  Forty  years  in  the  wilderness  made  Joshua 
one  of  God's  greatest  soldiers,  one  of  his  bravest 
heroes.  Saul's  persecution  did  more  to  make  David 
the  king  he  was  than  Samuel's  sacred  oil.  Elijah 
learned  the  Gospel  in  its  "  still  small  voice "  in  a 
cave.  Jonah  graduated  in  the  whale's  belly.  Peter 
got  his  best  lesson  in  evangelistic  theology  when  he 
went  out  in  the  dark  night  to  weep  bitterly  for  his 
great  sin.  Paul  was  not  conferring  with  flesh  and 
blood  during  the  time  spent  in  Arabia.  John  Avent 
to  the  highest  class  in  Patmos.  The  long  agony  of 
Luther  has  lessened  the  sorrows  of  millions.  John 
Bunyan  called  more  pilgrims  into  the  King's  high- 
way from  his  dungeon  than  ever  he  did  from  his 
pulpit.     And  so  of  thousands  more. 

To  the  Christian  and  the  preacher  of  Christ,  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  sin  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance. This  knowledge,  bitter  but  Avholesome,  Dun- 
can Matheson  was  now  learning.  "  I  have  found 
original  sin  in  the  Bible,"  said  a  student  to  Haldane. 
"Well,"  replied  the  latter:  "but  have  you  found  it 
in  your  own  heart  ?  "  Few  know  what  it  is  to  see 
all  the  terrible  hell  of  man's  depraved  nature.    To  be 


58  A   Common  Mistake. 

let  down  into  tliat  abyss  with  the  candle  of  the  Lord 
in  your  hand,  to  see  its  bottomless  depths  of  pride 
and  passion,  its  tumultuous  risings  against  law  and 
holiness,  its  desperate  rage  against  God,  its  Satanic 
challenges  of  the  Divine  Sovereignty,  its  insane  athe- 
isms, its  blasphemous  horrors,  its  cloud-covered  de- 
lusions, its  ambushed  hosts  of  armed  iniquities,  and 
its  infinite  capability  of  engendering  evils  enough 
to  waste  the  fairest  world  of  God,  and  people  many 
hells — ^to  see  all  this  and  far  more  than  words  can 
convey,  is  not  merely  to  learn  the  doctrine^  but  to 
know  tlie  reality  of  sin ^  so  that  the  sense  and  memory 
of  its  nature,  criminality,  power,  and  destiny,  are 
branded  as  with  a  red-hot  iron  upon  the  soul  for- 
ever. This  knowledge  is  beyond  the  ken  of  short- 
sighted professors  and  stone-blind  hypocrites. 

When  such  an  one,  like  Luther,  goes  about  for 
weary  months  or  years  bemoaning  himself  and  cry- 
ing piteously,  "Oh,  my  sin!  my  sin  I"  shallow  Chris- 
tians and  evil-doers  ask,  "What  great  crime  has  he 
committed?  Surely  he  is  living  in  gross  sin."  All 
the  while  the  man  is  living  a  holy  life,  waging  war 
against  the  very  thought  and  possibility  of  evil ;  but 
"a  sword  is  in  his  bones,"  and  his  "soul  dwells 
among  lions." 

The  young  convert  was  pursuing  holiness  as  a 

^an  runs  for  his  life,  but  he  was  partly  in  error. 

'I  can  see,"  he  says,  "looking  back  on  that  period 

of  my  history,  where  exactly  I  stood.     I  had  begun 

in  the  Sphit,  and  I  wanted  to  be  made  perfect  in 


A  Scrjipiiloiis  Conscience.  59 

he  flesh.  My  spirit  was  most  legal ;  I  prayed  con- 
Knually,  and  if  I  lost  a  moment  I  tried  to  make  it 
up  as  a  man  pays  a  debt.  I  had  a  scrupulous 
conscience,  which  brought  me  great  torment.  My 
eyes  were  fixed  withm  myself,  and  my  comfort  was 
drawn  from  my  frames.  The  Spirit's  work  in  me 
was  the  ground  of  my  peace  and  hope,  rather  than 
the  work  of  Christ  in  our  room.  I  did  not  see  Jesus 
as  my  sanctification  as  well  as  my  justification.  I 
did  not  then  know  the  meaning  of  this  word  as  de- 
scribing the  secret  of  progressive  holiness:  'We  all, 
with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of 
the  'Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same  image  from 
glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.'  Al- 
though I  drew  comfort  from  the  person  and  work 
of  Jesus,  I  did  not  live  on  Him.  I  was  continually 
analyzing  my  feelings,  drawing  comfort  from  what 
I  tliought  was  divine,  and  rejecting  what  was  nat- 
ural. Hence  my  hope  rose  and  fell  like  a  barom- 
eter. I  remember  one  day  going  out  to  the  Castle 
Park,  expecting  I  should  audibly  hear  a  voice  from 
heaven  assuring  me  that  all  my  sins  were  forgiven. 
When  in  this  attitude,  the  word  came  with  power 
to  my  heart,  'Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders, 
fe  will  not  believe.'  Indescribable  pangs  tore  ray 
,ieart  at  that  moment,  and  I  almost  felt  I  had  rather 
be  lost  than  go  on  in  the  way  of  believing.  Imme- 
diately another  passage  of  Scripture  took  forcible 
hold  of  me :  '  See  that  ye  refuse  not  Him  that  speak- 
eth:  for  if  they  escaped  not  who  refused  Him  that 


6o  Pa7'do7i  and  Holiness, 

spake  on  earth,  much  more  shall  not  we  escape, 
if  we  turn  away  from  Him  that  speaketh  from 
heaven'"  (Heb.  xii.  25). 

From  Huntly  he  went  to  Edinburgh,  and  wan- 
dered from  church  to  church  saying,  "Saw  ye  Him 
whom  my  soul  loveth?" — "They  have  taken  away 
my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
Him."  In  vain  his  search.  Back  again  to  Huntly 
he  took  his  way  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  showing  forth  the  death  of  Jesus; 
but  no  relief  came.  "Never  did  criminal  stand  on 
the  scaffold  with  more  rueful  countenance,"  he  says, 
"than  mine  was  as  I  sat  at  the  Lord's  table  that  day." 
He  trembled  lest  his  "blood  should  be  mingled  with 
his  sacrifice."  This  "service  was  the  service  of  the 
slave,  not  of  the  free."  By  and  by,  however,  he 
came  to  know  that  justification  realized  is  the  great 
vantage  ground  in  striving  after  personal  holiness, 
and  that  a  happy  consciousness  of  acceptance  in  the 
Beloved  is  the  great  incentive  to  true  obedience. 
He  who  joys  in  God  his  Saviour  cannot  fight  against 
his  divine  Friend.  The  blood  of  Jesus  brings  purity 
in  bringing  peace.  Grasping  pardon  you  grasp  ho- 
liness. He  who  receives  Jesus  receives  his  Spirit. 
Love  springs  from  faith ;  and  he  who  realizes  most 
assuredly  his  standing  in  grace,  walks  most  steadily 
in  fellowship,  works  most  cheerfully  in  obedience, 
and  lives  most  freely  in  the  liberties  of  holy  joy. 
This  lesson  ]\Iatheson  now  learned.  The  two  years' 
tempest  shook  the  tree  but  did  not  uproot  it.    If  the 


As  stir  mice.  6 1 

storm  damaged  the  brandies  it  strengthened  the 
roots.  The  young  Christian  unlearned  frames  and 
learned  faith.  He  learned  to  lean  on  the  word  of 
God,  the  bare  word,  and  nothing  but  the  word.  He 
was  taught  to  trust  not  in  the  Christ  of  his  heart, 
but  Christ  in  the  Word.  He  was  taught  to  "be 
strong"  not  in  the  grace  in  himself,  but  "in  the 
grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  At  length  realizing 
that  God  was  his  salvation  tln'ouadi  his  oneness  with 
Jesus  he  could  say : 


iD' 


*'So  nigh,  so  very  nigh  to  God, 

More  near  I  cannot  be; 
For  in  the  person  of  His  Son 

I  am  as  near  as  He. 
So  dear,  so  very  dear  to  God, 

More  dear  I  cannot  be : 
The  love  wherewith  He  loves  His  Son, 

Such  is  His  love  to  me." 

Having  been  brought  clearly  to  see  the  standing 
of  the  believer  in  Christ,  he  quickly  attained  a  well- 
grounded  assurance  of  salvation.  He  had  given 
diligence  to  make  his  calling  and  election  sure ;  but 
he  had  sought  assurance  in  vain  because  he  had 
sought  it  mainly  by  searching  himself  This  price- 
less jewel  he  found  where  all  good  is  to  be  found, 
at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  Henceforth,  although  he 
did  not  cease  to  work  out  his  own  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling,  he  could  always  say,  "  I  know 
whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  He 
is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto 


62  Gathering  Precious  Seed. 

Him  against  that  day."     This  happy  confidence  in . 
the  Lord  fitted  him  for  the  work  of  an  evangehst, 
and  sustained  him  amidst  many  labors  and  trials. 
Tlie  joy  of  the  Lord  was  his  strength,  and  true  of 
him  were  these  lines : 

"  There  are  in  this  loud  and  stunning  tide 
Of  human  care  and  crime, 
"With  whom  the  melodies  abide 

Of  the  everlasting  chime; 
Who  carry  music  in  their  heart 
Through  dusky  lane  and  wrangling  mart, 
Plying  their  daily  task  with  busier  feet. 
Because  their  secret  souls  a  holy  strain  repeat." 

During  this  period,  in  his  insatiable  hunger  for 
the  truth,  he  read  incessantly,  and  devoured  large 
and  substantial  meals  of  the  good  old  Puritanic  the- 
ology. Owen,  Baxter,  Howe,  and  the  other  divines 
of  that  age  were  his  delight.  Thus  he  laid  in  a 
good  store  for  days  to  come,  and  treasured  much 
precious  seed  to  be  afterwards  scattered  broadcast 
over  Scotland.  In  the  course  of  his  reading,  he 
stumbled  on  the  writings  of  Huntington,  and  for  a 
season  was  led  away  into  the  dreary  wilderness  of 
hyper-Calvinism,  where  some  poor  souls  seem  doomed 
to  wander  all  their  days,  perhaps  as  a  punishment 
for  their  hair-splitting  or  their  spiritual  pride.  For 
a  time  he  was  bound  in  the  strait  jacket  of  this  form 
of  fatalism.  He  dared  not  speak  to  every  one  of  the 
love  of  God,  lest  he  should  give  encouragement  to 
one  who  was  not  elect.     After  a  while  he  discov- 


Good  Results  of  the  Conflict.  63 

ered  his  error,  and  was  led  to  see  that  to  close  the 
door  of  the  universal  call  of  the  Gospel  is  to  close 
the  door  of  salvation  against  the  elect  themselves, 
since  the  only  warrant  to  believe  is  simply  the  gen- 
eral invitations  addressed  to  sinners  of  mankind.  ^ 
He  noticed  that  these  ultra-Calvinists  are  generally 
unpractical,  and  much  given  to  preaching  in  their 
prayers.  When  one  of  this  class  was  leading  the 
devotion  by  an  elaborate  theological  discussion,  some 
one,  as  Matheson  used  to  tell,  probably  enough 
himself,  touched  the  sleeve  of  the  pious  theorist, 
saying,  "Ask  something  from  Him."  With  brusque, 
quaint  irony  he  was  wont  to  say,  "Ah!  I  see  you 
have  taken  the  divine  sovereignty  under  yom-  spe- 
cial patronage  and  care,  but  I  have  no  time  for 
chopping  logic  with  you;  I  want  to  win  souls." 

The  insight  he  obtained  into  the  subtle  workings 
of  the  human  heart  during  his  long  conflict  pre- 
pared him  for  the  work  of  an  evangelist.  He  could 
discover  at  a  glance  the  whereabouts  of  an  inquirer. 
He  was  taught  to  distinguish  between  mere  blind 
alarm  and  genuine  conviction.  If  the  inquirer  was 
seeking  more  conviction,  instead  of  seeking  Christ, 
he  could  point  out  the  error  in  a  word.  Pride, 
pretence,  legalism,  fear  of  man,  and  unbelief  in 
its  varied  forms,  he  could  clearly  expose,  and  so 
remove  stumbling-blocks  out  of  the  way.  To  the 
despairing  he  could  say,  "I  was  once  where  you 
are  now;"  and  from  his  own  experience  he  could 
speak  wisely  and  lovingly  to  those  deeply  afflicted 


64         Lessons   Taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

ones  who  think  they  have  sinned  the  unpardonable 
sin. 

During  this  period  of  discipHne  he  learned  to  pray 
without  ceasing.  In  company,  on  the  street,  in  the 
railway  train,  in  the  bustle  of  business,  amidst  the 
solemn  fervors  of  his  preaching,  and  in  the  very 
torrent  of  his  own  quaint,  racy,  picturesque  talk  in 
social  life — in  short,  everywhere  and  in  all  things, 
his  faith  went  up  to  heaven  in  quick,  pointed,  battle- 
like cries.  When  others  were  preaching  we  have 
often  heard  him  praying  thus,  "Help,  Lord,  help! 
Give  the  blessing,  and  save  many ! " 

Such,  then,  were  some  of  the  lessons  taught  him 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  during  those  two  hard  and  bitter 
years.  A  thorough  knowledge  of  sin,  of  the  work- 
ings of  the  human  heart,  and  of  the  devices  of  the 
devil ;  a  clear  view  of  the  ground  of  the  believer's 
standing  before  God,  victory  over  his  adversaries, 
assurance  of  salvation,  and  the  habit  of  praying  al- 
ways— these  were  precious  fruits  in  his  own  expe- 
rience and  through  his  work  as  an  evangelist  seeds 
of  blessing  to  others,  which  he  scattered  far  and 
wide. 


Prcparatio7i  for  His   Work.  65 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HIS   EVANGELISTIC   APPRENTICESHIP. 
"  Son,  go  work  to-day  in  my  vineyard."— Matt.  xxi.  28. 

"Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle ?  "  This  ques- 
tion could  not  have  been  appropriately  addressed  to 
Duncan  Matheson  at  any  period  of  his  Christian  life. 
Immediately  on  his  conversion  he  began  to  labor  for 
the  salvation  of  souls.  At  first  his  light  was  small ; 
but  he  kept  trimming  his  lamp  both  for  his  own  and 
others'  good,  and  the  flame  increased.  Every  efiort 
of  faith  and  sacrifice  of  love  seemed  to  add  live  coals 
to  his  altar  of  fire.  For  twenty  years  the  flame  of 
zeal  was  never  suffered  to  expire ;  no,  not  for  a  single 
day.  Night  and  day,  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
he  strove  with  all  his  might  to  win  souls. 

His  first  attempt  was  at  Burntisland,  where  the 
minister  of  the  Free  Church  kindly  gave  him  the 
use  of  the  school,  and  otherwise  encouraged  him. 
He  began  by  wisely  conjoining  the  temporal  with 
the  spiritual,  making  the  former  subservient  to  the 
latter.  Having  acquired  proficiency  in  drawing,  he 
off'ered  gratuitously  to  teach  his  fellow-workmen. 
The  class  was  opened  and  closed  with  prayer  and 
reading  of  the  Word.  His  interest  in  the  temporal 
well-being  of  the  workmen  was  genuine  ;  but  he 
cared  chiefly  for  then*  souls.  While  they  were 
learning  to  draw  sketches,  he  was  striving  to  save 
5 


66  His  Philanthropy, 

sinners;  while  they  studied  architectural  plans,  he 
was  brooding  over  plans  for  their  salvation.  Here 
he  reaped  one  of  the  less  pleasant  fruits  of  doing 
good.  One  of  the  class  obtaining  the  use  of  Mathe- 
son's  drawing  instruments,  disappeared  with  the  ill- 
gotten  spoil,  and  the  benevolent  teacher  was  left  at 
a  great  loss.  He  was  vexed,  but  nothing  daunted. 
Throughout  his  life  he  invariably  set  himself  to  pro- 
mote in  every  possible  way  the  earthly  welfare  of 
his  fellow-men;  and  this  he  did  not  merely  as  a 
means  to  the  highest  end,  the  saving  of  souls,  but 
becausp  it  was  his  duty  and  his  joy.  Frequently, 
when  he  had  spent  all  his  earnings  in  charity,  did 
he  go  about  and  solicit  aid  for  the  poor.  Sometimes 
he  was  known  to  go  amongst  the  neighbors  and  beg 
a  scuttleful  of  coals,  carry  them  to  the  cheerless 
home  of  the  destitute  sick,  with  his  own  hands 
make  a  fire,  and  then  prepare  the  "  cup  that  cheers 
but  not  inebriates,"  procured  at  the  expense  of  his 
own  last  shilling.  Only  after  the  poor,  forlorn,  bed- 
ridden, solitary  one  was  refreshed  did  he  take  his 
Bible  from  his  pocket  to  read,  and  pray,  and  speak 
of  Jesus  and  salvation.  "  I  never  believed,"  he  says, 
"  in  speaking  sweet  words  and  honeyed  counsels  to 
starving  people.  If  you  want  to  do  them  good,  go 
to  them  with  a  loaf  in  one  hand  and  the  Bible  in  the 
other.     Actions  speak  louder  than  words." 

About  this  time  he  succeeded  in  preventing  a 
strike.  His  sympathy  with  the  men,  liis  manly 
frankness,  his  judicious  counsel  and  weight  of  char- 


His  Call  to  Preach  the   Word.  6/ 

acter,  were,  by  the  blessing  of  God  sought  for  in 
prayer,  entirely  successful.  He  felt  he  obtained  his 
reward  in  the  evils  thus  averted  and  in  the  harmony 
restored  between  masters  and  men.  He  found  the 
Gospel  to  be  the  true  remedy  of  every  woe.  Jesus 
is  indeed  Jehovah -rophi. 

Eeturning  to  Huntly,  he  began  with  all  his  ener- 
gy and  enthusiasm  to  make  known  the  Saviour  he 
had  found.  Every  hour  was  spent  in  visiting  the 
sick  and  distributing  tracts.  His  eiforts  were  not 
confined  to  his  native  town.  Everywhere  in  the 
neighboring  parishes  he  sought  his  way  with  more 
or  less  success.  Hitherto  he  had  confined  his  evan- 
gelistic services  to  prayer,  reading  the  word  and  con- 
versation ;  but  the  time  had  arrived  when  he  must 
take  a  step  in  advance.  One  day  Miss  Macpherson, 
a  devoted  Christian,  who  had  been  his  friend,  coun- 
sellor, and  good  angel  throughout  the  period  of  his 
protracted  spiritual  conflict,  requested  him  to  ad- 
dress a  company  of  aged  women  whom  she  had 
gathered  together.  IMatheson  declined  the  invita- 
tion. He  "could  not  preach."  Miss  M.  reasoned, 
urged,  and  entreated ;  but  all  in  vain.  Finally,  de- 
manding what  he  would  answer  at  the  great  tribu- 
nal for  a  neglected  talent,  she  charged  him  not  to 
refuse  lest  souls  should  perish  in  consequence.  This 
was  more  than  he  could  bear.  He  went  to  the 
meeting,  though  with  the  greatest  hesitancy  and 
fear.  Opening  the  Bible  at  Isaiah  xxxii.  11,  "Trem- 
ble, ye  women  that  are  at  ease ;  be  troubled,  ye  care- 


6S  Solemn  Events. 

less  ones,"  he  spoke  with  great  freedom  and  power. 
Both  the  text  and  matter  of  his  address  seemed  to 
be  laid  to  his  hand ;  and  such  were  the  results  that 
he  felt  assured  the  Lord  was  calling  him  to  this 
work.  The  Christian  lady,  who  by  her  wisdom  and 
faithfulness  was  instrumental  in  calling  into  exer- 
cise a  gift  of  inestimable  value,  little  knew  at  that 
time  the  greatness  of  the  service  she  was  rendering 
to  the  Church  and  the  world. 

From  this  time  onwards  to  the  end  of  his  days  he 
found  at  once  his  greatest  labor  and  his  chief  joy  in 
preaching  Christ.  In  a  short  space  of  time  he  estab- 
lished a  great  many  cottage  meetings,  which  he  Car- 
ried on  with  uncommon  vigor  and  success.  Solemn 
events  occurred.  One  night  our  evangelist  ad- 
dressed a  meeting  on  the  parable  of  the  ten  vir- 
gins. A  woman  deeply  impressed,  went  home,  and 
S]3ent  a  night  of  sleepless  anxiety.  Early  in  the 
morning  she  called  her  neighbor  to  go  and  fetch 
Duncan  Matheson.  As  the  messenger  left  the  house 
a  great  crash  was  heard:  the  anxious  inquirer  had 
dropped  dead.  "  While  they  went  to  buy,  the  Bride- 
groom came." 

A  man,  in  whose  house  Matheson  held  a  meeting, 
taking  offence  at  the  word,  informed  the  evangelist 
that  the  next  meeting  would  be  the  last  under  his 
roof  The  "young  servant  of  Christ  was  deeply 
grieved,  and  prayed  much  for  an  appropriate  sub- 
ject of  final  address.  One  text  took  hold  of  his  mind, 
and  he  could  not  get  rid  of  it.     Accordingly  he 


Employed  by  the  Duchess  of  Gordon.        6g 

preaclied  on  tlie  solemn  and  touching  words  of  the 
Lord  Jesus:  "If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at 
least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto 
thy  peace?  but  now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes." 
At  the  close  the  evangelist  shook  hands  with  the 
master  of  the  house,  and  said,  "  Prepare  to  meet  thy 
God."  The  ark  of  the  Lord  was  thrust  out,  and  the 
ark-bearer  with  it.  Next  day  the  man,  when  drink- 
ing with  his  companions  in  the  public-house,  sudden- 
ly fell  dead.  These  providential  visitations  served 
to  deepen  the  impression  made  by  the  word.  Great 
power  accompanied  the  preaching,  the  people  were 
seen  running  home  from  the  place  of  meeting  in  a 
state  of  great  alarm. 

The  Duchess  of  Gordon,  hearing  of  young  Mathe- 
son's  zealous  and  successful  labors,  sent  for  him  and 
offered  to  employ  him  as  missionary  at  a  salary  of 
forty  pounds  a  year.  Hitherto  he  had  maintained 
himself;  but  his  means  were  now  exhausted.  His 
worldly  prospects  were  indeed  bright.  His  skill  as 
a  builder,  his  energy,  enterprising  spirit,  business 
talents,  and  moral  integrity,  held  out  the  promise  of 
position  and  wealth ;  but  he  cheerfully  turned  his 
back  on  honor  and  gain,  and  betook  himself  amidst 
opposition  and  scorn  to  build  the  walls  of  Jerusalem. 
Being  now  fully  possessed  by  the  great  passion  of 
his  life,  the  saving  of  souls,  worldly  considerations 
were  with  him  of  small  account.  The  offer  of  the 
Duchess  was  accepted.  He  went  to  work  with  all 
his  might.     Although  he  never  received  more  than 


^o  Visiting  Aged  Christians. 

the  small  salary  named  he  spent  a  large  proportion 
of  it  in  the  purchase  of  tracts,  and  in  the  relief  of  the 
poor;  and  this  noble  and  generous  practice  he  fol- 
lowed whilst  he  lived. 

His  strength  was  great,  and  he  often  worked  six- 
teen hours  a  day.  Sinners  were  converted,  and  he 
was  filled  with  joy.  Often,  however,  no  success  at- 
tended his  labors ;  but  although  cast  down  and  led 
to  humble  himself  at  the  sight  of  souls  perishing  in 
their  wilful  rejection  of  Christ,  he  learned  many  a 
useful  lesson.  Some  men,  he  observed,  concealed  a 
hard  heart  beneath  "  a  thick  coat  of  evangelical  var- 
nish." They  assented  to  all  he  said,  but  repented 
not.  He  watched  them  at  the  last  hour  of  life,  and 
saw  them  die  without  giving  one  sign  of  grace. 
There  were  no  bands  in  their  death ;  their  strength 
was  firm.  He  concluded  that  there  is  no  more  dan- 
gerous delusion  than  the  confidence  begotten  by  a 
mere  "head  knowledge,"  or  intellectual  faith. 

He  frequently  visited  the  old  Christians  who  had 
been  disciples  of  Mr.  Cowie,  and  in  his  intercourse 
with  them  learned  several  useful  lessons.  One  of 
these  pilgrims  was  Isobel  Chrystie,  then  upwards  of 
ninety  years  of  age.  "Come  awa,  my  son  David," 
said  Isobel  to  the  missionary  one  day  as  he  entered 
her  humble  cot.  "Perhaps,"  was  his  reply,  "the 
hands  are  the  liands  of  Esau,  but  the  voice  is  Ja- 
cob's. How  do  you  know  that  I  am  not  a  hypo- 
crite?" "Ah,"  said  she,  "d'ye  think  I  dinna  ken 
the  breath  o'  a  true  Christian?"    The  Kose  of  Sharon 


Dying  Saints.  7 1 

may  lie  hid  in  the  beKever's  bosom,  but  its  fragrance 
cannot  be  concealed  from  others.  "We  ocht  to  lay 
down  our  lives  for  the  brithren ;  an'  hoo  could  we 
dee  for  them  if  we  dinna  ken  them  ?  "  So  thought 
Isobel  Chrystie.  When  in  the  course  of  conversa- 
tion allusion  was  made  to  the  salvation  of  the  dy- 
ing thief,  she  rattled  her  little  staff  on  the  floor  and 
said,  "That  was  a  ^^j  trophy  to  gang  throw  the 
gowden  gates  o'  heaven.  I'm  thinkin'  there  was  a 
^Qj  steer  amo'  the  angels ;  but  nane  o'  them  would 
try  to  pit  him  oot.  Na,  na;  Christ  brocht  him  ben." 
When  Isobel  lay  dying  she  was  unable  to  recog- 
nize minister,  missionary,  friend,  or  neighbor.  To 
each  inquiry  she  still  replied,  "I  dinna  ken  you." 
At  last  the  question  was  put  to  her,  "Isobel,  d'ye 
ken  Christ?"  The  countenance  of  the  dying  saint 
brightened  at  the  sound  of  her  Saviour's  name. 
Looking  up  with  a  smile  she  promptly  replied, 
"That  I  do,  but  nae  sae  muckle  as  I  would  like, 
and  will  do  by  an'  by."  That  night  the  aged  be- 
liever went  to  be  with  Him  whom  she  remem- 
bered and  knew  when  all  others  were  forgotten 
and  unknown. 

A  dying  saint  of  the  same  generation  gave  him 
this  pithy  advice:  "Hand  in  wi'  Christ;  whatever 
happens,  aye  think  weel  o'  God;  and  tak'  care  o' 
yersel';  for,  ye  ken,  a  breath  dims  a  polished  shaft." 

Another  Christian,  ere  passing  away,  charged 
him  to  warn  the  behevers  against  "razing  the  foun- 
dations."    "I  often  did  it,"  she  said;  "I  rashly  de- 


^2  Experience  in  Gospel  Work. 

nied  tlie  Spirit's  work  in  my  soul,  and  I  have  paid 
dearly  for  it."  This  she  said  in  reference  to  the 
excessive  and  morbid  retrospection  in  which  some 
,'  Christians  indulge,  to  the  hurt  of  their  souls  and  the 
'  discredit  of  the  Gospel.  They  pull  up  faith  by  the 
roots  to  see  if  it  is  growing.  They  pluck  out  their 
eyes  to  see  if  those  eyes  are  genuine.  Peace  and  joy 
depart  from  them.  Dark  suspicions  of  God,  as  if  He 
watched  for  their  halting,  overshadow  their  hearts, 
and  they  are  plunged  into  misery.  Growth  in  grace 
becomes  impossible;  for,  as  one  has  said,  "kindly 
thoughts  of  God  lie  at  the  root  of  sanctifi cation." 
Self-examination  is  important;  but  surely  not  less 
important  is  faith.  Looking  into  the  heart  and  look- 
ing out  to  Christ  should  go  together.  The  pilot  at 
once  keeps  his  eye  upon  the  compass  and  his  hand 
upon  the  helm:  if  he  neglected  either  he  would 
speedily  lose  his  course.  "Keeping  the  heart"  must 
be  coupled  with  "holding  the  Head."  "Examine 
thyself"  should  never  be  separated  from  "looking 
unto  Jesus."  The  best  way  of  testing  the  pitcher 
of  our  faith  is  by  dipping  it  often  in  the  Well  of 
Life  and  drawing  its  fill  for  constant  use. 

In  the  journal  of  his  missionary  labors  he  kept  a 
minutely  detailed  account  of  every  visit  and  con- 
versation, and  his  impressions  of  the  people.  This 
record,  large  enough  to  fill  a  volume,  was  written 
with  perfect  accuracy  and  fastidious  care,  and  serves 
to  illustrate  the  thoroughness  that  always  character- 
ized the  man  and  his  work.     Plainly  too  it  appears 


Two  Classes.  73 

from  this  diary  that  in  simphcity  and  godly  sincer- 
ity did  he  bring  before  every  man,  woman,  and  child, 
the  things  of  their  peace.  As  usnal,  he  found  two 
classes,  viz.,  the  few  that  are  open  to  conviction, 
and  the  many  that  entrench  themselves  behind  their 
own  righteousness.  One  refuses  to  make  any  sign 
in  regard  to  personal  religion,  and  he  is  silenced  by 
silence.  The  candle  will  not  burn  for  want  of  air. 
Another  agrees  with  every  thing  the  missionary 
says,  and  in  that  panoply  of  perfect  formalism  no 
joint  is  found.  The  candle  burns,  but  it  is  in  the 
presence  of  the  dead.  A  third  "  will  not  speak  of 
his  religion  to  any  man,  because  it  is  a  matter  be- 
tween himself  and  God ; "  to  which  the  missionary 
bluntly  replies  that  if  he  htid  true  religion  it  would 
make  him  speak,  for  he  would  seek  communion 
with  men  of  like  mind,  and  out  of  the  abundance 
of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  Some  men  con- 
ceal their  rehgion  as  they  would  a  scab.  Eloquent 
about  the  merest  trifle,  they  have  nothing  to  say 
for  Christ.  These  are  the  devil's  dummies.  Anoth- 
er, a  middle-aged  matron,  receives  him  kindly,  but 
is  at  first  shy  and  reserved.  His  quaint,  ingenuous, 
spirit-stirring  talk  quickly  unlocks  the  good  wom- 
an's heart,  and  she  begins  to  tell  him  that  she  "fears 
she  is  mair  o'  a  hypocrite  than  a  Christian,  for  she 
canna  see  hoo  a  child  o'  God  could  hae  sae  muckle 
indwallin'  sin  as  she  has:  but  still  she  daurna  deny 
that  she  canna  do  without  prayer,  that  she  has  a  ^(sj 
likin'  to  God's  Word,  an  a  warm  hert  to  God's  chil- 


74  III  Labors  Abundant. 

di-en,  and  a  terrible  fear  o'  sin,  though  she  is  some- 
hoo  aye  sinnin'  an'  sinnin'  for  a'  that."  The  mission- 
ary takes  up  the  case,  and  by  the  help  of  his  own 
experience  so  sets  forth  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  that 
the  inquirer  enters  into  light,  freedom  and  joy :  and 
ever  afterwards  he  is  to  her  as  an  angel  of  God,  and 
she  is  to  him  a  ''daughter  of  the  King." 

Sometimes  he  held  as  many  as  seventy  prayer- 
meetings  in  three  months.  In  his  reports  he  com- 
plains of  scanty  fruit  in  the  fewness  of  conversions. 
At  one  time  he  feels  nothing  but  "  formalism  "  and 
"leanness  of  soul"  in  discussing  solemn  truths. 
Again,  he  goes  to  the  meeting  in  great  fear,  and 
finds  the  stone  rolled  away  from  the  mouth  of  the 
sepulchre;  instead  of  "darkness,  guilt,  confasion 
arising  from  self-sufficiency,"  he  enjoys  enlargement 
and  blessing.  "  I  have  seen  impressions  made,  yet 
soon  after  I  have  seen  the  last  trace  of  them  effaced. 
I  have  been  helped  to  set  a  gracious  soul  a  step  up 
the  ladder,  yet  on  going  back  I  have  found  them  ten 
steps  down.  What  I  have  longed,  and  prayed,  and 
sought  for  has  been  conversion  unto  God,  and  any 
hope  or  comfort  I  have  had  in  seeking  this  has  arisen 
from  this  very  truth,  that  He  works  as  seemeth  good 
in  his  sight,  and  calleth  whom  He  will." 

Not  satisfied  with  the  efforts  of  his  voice,  he  de- 
vised means  for  the  circulation  of  tracts  on  the 
widest  scale.  Means  failing  him,  for  he  had  spent 
his  last  penny  in  the  work,  he  began  to  cry  to  God  for 
aid.    One  night  in  prayer,  the  thought  came  into  his 


Praying  for  a  Printing- Press.  75 

mind,  "  If  I  could  get  a  printing-press  I  could  make 
as  many  tracts  as  I  could  use."  On  this  he  began  to 
pray  for  a  printing-press,  and  for  several  months 
continued  to  supplicate  this  gift  from  his  God.  The 
prayer  was  unexpectedly  answered.  Accidentally 
discovering  that  an  old  printing-press  was  for  sale, 
he  made  inquiries  as  to  the  terms,  although  he  did 
not  possess  the  means  of  purchase.  Much  to  his 
astonishment,  the  person  whose  property  it  was  let 
him  have  it,  with  a  set  of  old  worn  types,  at  a  merely 
nominal  price.  Never  did  warrior  bear  away  the 
trophies  of  victory  with  deeper  joy  than  he  felt  in 
carrying  the  old  printing  machinery  to  his  father's 
house.     On  reaching  home,  he  wrote  upon  it, 

FOR  GOD  AND  ETERNITY; 

and  then,  hastening  to  his  closet,  "fell  upon  his 
knees,  and  asked  the  needed  skill  to  work  it."  Noth- 
ing daunted  by  his  ignorance  of  printing,  he  set  him- 
self to  learn  "  the  divine  art,"  his  only  instructors  the 
two  great  teachers  of  all  heroic  souls  and  successful 
workers,  to  wit,  Failure  and  Perseverance.  Appren- 
tice and  master,  printer  and  publisher,  missionary 
and  philanthropist,  all  in  one,  he  ascended  by  the 
slow  and  painful  steps  of  experience  struck  out  of 
repeated  failure,  like  fire  flashing  from  the  smitten 
eye  of  Mitijw^^lio  runneth  in  the  dark,  till  at  length 
he  reached  the  summit  of  his  fondest  wish,  and  un- 
aided could  send  forth  thousands  of  tracts  like  leaves 
from  the  tree  of  life. 


76  First  Attempts  at  Printing. 

His  first  attempts  at  printing  ended  in  failure  and 
chagrin.  Whole  nights  were  spent  in  ineffectual 
efforts;  but  never  despairing,  he  cried  to  God  for 
help,  and  went  to  work  again.  Often  for  hours  the 
work  of  "composing"  goes  on,  till  at  length  his  eye 
rests  with  complacence  on  a  page  of  type,  when  sud- 
denly the  whole  falls  down  into  what  printers  call 
"pi,"  and  his  mortification  is  complete.  Falling 
again  upon  his  knees,  he  prays  for  patience  and 
help.  The  sight  of  his  own  inscription,  "  For  God 
and  Eternity,"  inspires  him  with  fresh  zeal,  and 
although  oftentimes  "the  lumbering  press  goes  all 
wrong,"  he  perseveres  till  at  length  success  comes 
to  him,  as  Jesus  came  to  the  disciples  upon  the  sea 
at  the  latest  watch  of  the  night.  "  I  went  on,"  he 
says,  "  till  I  managed  to  print  two  thousand  four- 
page  tracts  a  day.  How  I  did  toil,  and  sweat,  and 
pray  at  it !  Some  nights  I  never  slept  at  all,  but 
went  on  composing.  My  constitution  was  strong, 
and  night  after  night  was  spent  at  the  work." 

The  tracts  brought  him  no  money,  and  his  own 
slender  means  were  speedily  exhausted.  His  benev- 
olent labors  excited  little  sympathy  in  his  native 
town ;  the  only  contribution  to  his  tract  enterprise  he 
ever  received  in  Huntly  was  half-a-crown,  brought 
him  by  a  poor  widow.  Falling  short  of  paper  and 
money,  what  was  he  to  do  ?  Give  up  the  unprofit- 
able business,  and  leave  an  ungrateful  people  to 
themselves?  Never.  Not  in  that  way  are  souls 
won  for  Christ,  and  the  glory  of  God  advanced. 


Original  Tracts,  77 

Again  he  betook  himself  to  prayer,  and  the  same 
gracious  Master  who  provided  the  printing-press 
provided  the  paper  also.  Certain  Christians  in  Lin- 
colnshire, whom  he  had  never  seen,  fell  in  with  one 
of  his  tracts,  and  pleased  with  its  spirit  and  contents 
wrote  for  a  supply.  He  could  not  supply  them  for 
want  of  paper.  This  led  to  further  correspondence, 
and  the  supply  of  means  to  procure  paper  from  time 
to  time. 

One  tract,  entitled  "The  Lord's  Supper  Profaned," 
called  forth  not  a  little  opposition.  After  printing  it, 
he  went  round  and  with  his  own  hand  left  a  copy  in 
every  house  in  his  native  town.  For  the  professors 
who  have  but  a  name  to  live  it  was  too  searching; 
hence  it  gave  deadly  offence.  It  was  blessed  of  God, 
however,  in  the  conversion  of  several  persons,  and  is 
still  in  circulation  in  the  Stirling  Series  of  tracts. 
Mr.  Drummond,  Avho  has  done  so  noble  a  work  of 
the  same  kind,  reissued  the  faithful  tract,  and  sev- 
eral others  also  of  Mr.  Matheson's.  Another  tract, 
entitled  "The  Origin  of  the  Chinese  Bible  Fund," 
intended  to  further  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures 
in  China,  found  its  way  into  the  Koyal  Palace,  and 
thus  afforded  an  illustration  of  Solomon's  saying. 
"Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in  his  business?  he  shall 
stand  before  kings ;  he  shall  not  stand  before  mean 
men." 

In  addition  to  original  matter,  our  evangelist  took 
extracts  from  Boston,  Edwards,  Flavel,  and  other 
favorite  authors,  and  went  on  printing,  till  at  length 


78  A  Hundred  TJiousand  Messengers. 

in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  he  had  by  his 
own  unaided  efforts  thrown  off  and  put  into  circu- 
lation a  hundred  thousand  little  Gospel  messengers, 
the  voice  of  whose  quiet  but  powerful  testimony 
cannot  have  been  m  vain.  He  was  now  sowing 
what  many  years  afterwards  he  was  destined  to 
reap. 

That  young  man,  with  his  immense  capacities  for 
earthly  promotion  and  enjoyment,  turning  his  back 
on  all  the  ambitions  and  pleasures  of  the  world, 
and  after  a  long  day  of  sorest  toil,  spending  the 
silent  watches  of  night  in  so  great  a  labor  of  disin- 
terested love,  was  surely  a  pleasing  sight  to  the 
angels  of  God.  Toil,  privation,  ingratitude,  oppo- 
sition, scorn,  disappointment  and  failure,  neither 
weakened  his  hands  nor  discouraged  his  heart. 
He  endured  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible;  and 
bravely  did  he  march  forward  in  his  lofty  mission 
of  self-sacrificing  love  to  souls,  ever  affording  prac- 
tical illustration  of  his  own  motto,  "  For  God  and 
Eternity." 

Feeling  that  his  work  would  soon  be  done  in  Hunt- 
ly,  he  labored  night  and  day  to  win  souls ;  and  ere  he 
left  his  native  place  for  other  fields,  he  could  say  in 
truth  he  had  warned  every  sinner  and  testified  the 
grace  of  God  to  every  soul.  Of  all  the  rare  privileges 
enjoyed  by  Huntly  during  a  day  of  merciful  visita- 
tion extending  over  the  last  thirty  years,  not  the 
least  has  been  the  faithful  testimony  and  apostolic 
labors  of  her  own  brave  and  much-enduring  son 


Desires  to  go  to  China.  79 

Duncan  Matlieson,  whose  name  will  be  an  honor 
to  his  native  town  whilst  Christianity  lives  within 
her  borders,  and  whose  example  of  untiring  energy, 
heroic  perseverance,  and  Christ-like  love  of  souls  will 
stir  the  hearts  of  the  ingenuous  youth  in  future  gen- 
erations, and  kindle  noble  aspu*ations  in  the  bosoms 
of  many  yet  unborn. 

At  this  time  the  perishing  millions  of  China  lay 
heavy  on  his  heart,  and  he  longed  to  go  forth  and 
preach  the  Gospel  in  the  land  of  Sinim.  ]\Iuch  did 
he  "sigh  and  cry"  about  the  heathen,  and  often  did 
he  say  in  his  inmost  heart,  "Lord,  here  am  I;  send 
me."  During  the  last  months  he  spent  in  Huntly, 
as  he  went  from  house  to  house  pleading  with  men 
to  receive  Christ,  the  words  of  Heber's  hymn  were 
constantly  sounding  in  his  ear : 

"  Shall  we,  whose  souls  are  lighted 

With  wisdom  from  on  high, 
Shall  we  to  men  benighted 

The  lamp  of  life  deny  ? 
Salvation,  0  salvation, 

The  glorious  sound  proclaim, 
Till  earth's  remotest  nation 

Hath  learnt  Messiah's  name." 


8o  Prepared  for  His  Work. 

CHAPTER  V. 

HIS   MISSION   TO   THE   CRIMEA. 

"  Also  I  heard  tlie  voice  of  the  Lord,  saying,  Whom  shall  I  send,  and  who  will 
go  for  us?  Then  said  I,  Here  am  I :  send  me."— Isa.  vi.  8. 

His  evangelistic  apprenticeship  was  now  at  a  close. 
He  had  obtained  "a  good  degree,  and  great  boldness 
in  the  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  Even  if  he 
had  accomplished  little  he  had  learned  much.  By 
constant  and  prayerful  study  of  the  Scriptures  and 
the  best  divines,  he  had  greatly  increased  his  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  stores.  His  mind  was  braced 
by  severe  discipline,  his  judgment  matured  by  deep 
reflection,  and  his  gift  of  utterance  developed  by  ex- 
ercise. His  knowledge  of  the  truth  kept  pace  with, 
his  growing  insight  into  human  nature ;  and  the  fre- 
quent rebuffs  he  met  taught  him  to  add  tact  to 
straightforwardness  in  dealing  with  men.  His  faith, 
like  his  person,  was  sturdy,  stalwart,  and  full  of  ro- 
bust health ;  his  assurance  was  as  clear  and  calm  as 
a  summer  morning ;  and  his  consecration  to  God  was 
entire.  In  his  consuming  zeal  for  the  salvation  of 
men  he  was  willing  to  go  anywhere  or  do  any  thing 
at  the  Master's  call.  Born  a  soldier,  every  inch  of 
him  a  man  of  war,  he  was  not  the  less  fitted  for  camps 
and  the  rougher  scenes  of  life,  now  that  he  stood  clad 
in  the  whole  armor  of  God,  "a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ."    The  man  of  prayers  and  tears,  and  love  to 


Eastward.  8 1 

souls,  had  his  humble  part  to  play  in  the  gathering 
of  the  armies  of  the  nations ;  and  though  that  part 
nobly  performed  finds  no  place  in  the  annals  of  the 
Crimean  struggle,  the  record  of  the  missionary's  cam- 
paign is  on  high,  and  its  results,  when  disclosed  in 
the  last  great  assembly  of  the  human  race,  will  doubt- 
less receive  a  nobler  reward  than  the  perishing  lau- 
rels of  earthly  fame. 

Our  evangelist  happening  to  witness  the  departure 
of  soldiers  for  the  Crimea  in  1854  was  deeply  moved 
by  the  sad  farewells.  This  changed  the  current  of 
his  thoughts  and  sympathies ;  and  although  he  did 
not  cease  to  pray  for  the  perishing  millions  of  China, 
his  heart  went  with  the  soldiers,  and  he  began  to 
lay  the  matter  before  the  Lord.  The  more  he  thought 
of  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  a  soldier's  life,  its 
hardships,  its  snares,  its  constant  risk  and  peril,  its 
need  of  counsel  and  of  the  cross,  the  more  he  prayed 
and  longed  to  go  as  a  herald  of  mercy  to  the  camp, 
the  field,  and  the  hospital,  in  the  distant  East,  to 
share  his  joy  with  the  weary,  the  wounded  and  the 
dying.  How  this  could  be  brought  about  he  had  no 
idea.  His  desire  was  known  only  to  God;  but  he 
believed  in  the  Hearer  of  prayer,  and  continued  to 
wait  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

The  call  for  which  he  was  praying  came  from  an 
unexpected  quarter,  and  it  came  stamped  with  the 
broad  seal  of  a  special  providence.  It  happened  in 
this  way.  One  day  he  received  a  letter,  which  in 
substance  ran  thus:  "If  you  are  still  in  the  mind  to 
6 


82  A  Special  Providence. 

go  to  the  East,  reply  by  return  of  post,  and  please 
say  when  you  could  start."  The  letter  was  from  the 
Kev.  J.  Bonar,  convener  of  the  Colonial  Committee  of 
the  Free  Church — a  gentleman  whom  Duncan  Math- 
eson  had  never  seen,  and  did  not  know.  Surely  he 
thought  as  he  read  Mr.  Bonar's  note,  there  is  some 
mistake  here.  Yet  he  felt  as  if  the  hand  and  voice 
of  God  were  in  it,  calling  him  to  the  scene  of  con- 
flict. He  went  and  told  the  Duchess,  saying  that 
there  was  clearly  a  mistake,  but  that  he  was  will- 
ing to  go.  ''  How  strange ! "  exclaimed  her  Grace ; 
"  I  have  been  praying  that  God  would  incline  you 
to  go,  and  others  have  been  praying  also.  If  there 
is  a  mistake,  I  will  send  you  myself"  He  wrote  to 
Mr.  Bonar,  and  ascertained  that  the  letter  was  in- 
tended for  another  of  the  same  name,  a  Gaelic-speak- 
ing licentiate  of  the  Free  Church,  who  had  been 
employed  for  some  time  among  the  navvies.  The 
Countess  of  Effingham  desirous  of  sending  a  mission- 
ary to  the  Highland  Brigade,  had  requested  Mr. 
Bonar  to  find  a  suitable  agent  for  the  work.  Mr. 
Bonar  wrote  to  the  Eev.  D.  Matheson ;  but  the  let- 
ter going  astray,  a  clerk  in  the  post-office  had  writ- 
ten on  it,  "Try  Huntly,"  and  so  it  came  into  the 
hands  of  the  wrong  D.  Matheson,  according  to  the 
proposing  of  man,  but  the  right  D.  Matheson,  ac- 
cording to  the  disposing  of  God.  Mr.  Bonar,  glad 
to  find  a  fit  man  ready  to  undertake  so  arduous  a  mis- 
sion, requested  him  to  come  up  to  Edinburgh  and 
arrange  for  taking  his  departure  for  the  East,  in 


1 


At  Beckeitham.  83 

connection  with  the  British  and  Foreign  Soldier's 
Friend  Society.  He  whose  "kingdom  ruleth  over 
all,"  and  who  "holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  His  right 
hand,"  overruled  the  mistake  of  the  post-office  for 
the  accomplishment  of  a  great  purpose. 

With  characteristic  decision  he  went  up  to  Edin- 
burgh the  day  after  he  received  Mr.  Bonar's  letter, 
and  without  an  hour's  delay,  entered  into  engage- 
ments with  the  Society  to  go  to  the  East  as  a  Scrip- 
ture-reader. At  the  same  time  he  received  a  com- 
mission from  the  Free  Church  Colonial  Committee, 
and  a  recommendation  "  to  their  brethren  at  Con- 
stantinople or  other  places  where  Providence  may 
cast  his  lot." 

The  following  scrap  was  found  in  his  room  after 
his  departure;  "I  surrender  father,  sister,  brothers, 
myself — all,  all  that  concerns  me,  into  thy  hands, 
0  my  God.  For  the  past,  I  bless  Thee.  For  the 
present,  I  praise  Thee.  For  the  future,  I  trust  Thee. 
My  feet  shall  stand  within  thy  gates,  0  Jerusalem. 
Nights  end.  Partings  close.  I  am  thine,  0  Lord, 
wholly  thine. — Nov.  8th,  1854."  This  was  counting 
the  cost. 

At  the  quiet  rectory  at  Beckenham,  a  green  spot 
to  him  ever  after,  he  was  received  with  unbounded 
kindness ;  and  the  parting  blessing  of  the  venerable 
servant  of  Christ,  Dr.  Marsh,  was  fresh  on  his  heart 
to  his  dying  day.  In  contrast  to  this  was  the  dis- 
couraging language  of  certain  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel, who,  meeting  him  at  another  stage  of  his  jour- 


84  Longing  for  His   Work. 

ney,  warned  him  against  speaking  to  the  soldiers 
abont  conversion.  "  You  will  be  expelled  from  the 
camp,  if  you  do,"  said  they.  He  replied,  that  he 
Avas  going  to  the  Crimea  for  the  very  purpose  of 
telling  the  unconverted  soldiers  that  they  needed 
to  be  born  again,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  he  would 
do  it,  be  the  consequences  what  they  might.  In 
this  way  he  experienced  light  and  shade. 

TO    HIS    SISTER. 

"  London,  11th  Nov.,  1854. 
"  I  have  met  with  kindness  such  as  I  never  felt 
on  earth,  and  have  met  with  some  of  the  Lord's 
dear  family  in  the  highest  ranks  of  life.  Surely 
goodness  and  mercy  follow  me.  I  feel  it — I  know 
it.  My  heart  is  stayed  on  the  Lord;  it  is  truly 
humbling  and  cheering.  Letters  come  daily  from 
persons  I  have  never  seen.  My  destination  is  in 
the  meantime  Scutari.     My  whole  energies  will  be 

devoted  to  my  dear  countrymen I  long 

to  get  to  my  work.  I  feel  no  shrinking.  I  commit 
my  way  to  the  Lord.  I  go  his  errand.  I  seek  his 
glory;  it  is  enough.  Do  seek  to  rejoice  that  He 
counts  me  worthy  to  go.  I  am  calmly  resting  on 
his  arm.  1  feel  no  fears.  Truly  I  am  not  alone. 
He  bears  me  up.  Clouds,  trials,  darkness  may 
come ;  yet  all  works  for  good.  Dear  father  and  sis- 
ter, be  of  good  courage,  for  I  am  forever  the  Lord's." 

"London,  15th  Nov.,  1854 
"  I  long  for  my  work.     I  see  the  need  great  and 


On  the  Way.  85 

pressing.  I  seek  no  rest  till  I  get  it  on  high.  I 
know  to  his  own  God  will  be  a  Shepherd,  gently 
leading  and  guiding  them.  Never  did  I  feel  so 
much  as  now  the  power,  the  deep  sustaining  power 
of  grace.  Ah,  dear  sister,  it  is  sweet  to  be  passive 
in  the  Lord's  hand;  to  know  his  grace,  to  enjoy  his 
smile.  I  offer  myself  to  the  Lord.  I  may  meet 
rough  tossing,  billows  heaving,  seas  swelling;  yet 
the  throne,  the  crown,  the  kingdom  on  high — that 
is  our  goal — that  is  enough  for  me." 

"  Off  Cape  St.  Vincent,  22d  Nov.,  1854. 

"  My  Dear,  Dear  Jessie. — How  I  shall  write  you 
just  now  I  know  not,  the  motion  of  the  steamer  is 
so  great.  Still  I  am  anxious  to  send  you  a  few 
lines  as  we  expect  to  be  in  Gibraltar  to-morrow. 

.  .  .  .  It  seems  as  if  the  Lord  were  giving 
me  such  displays  of  His  goodness  as  to  compel  me 
to  say,  '  This  God  is  my  God  forever  and  ever ;  He 
will  be  my  guide  even  unto  death.'  On  getting 
aboard  the  steamer,  I  saw  my  luggage  safely  put 
away,  and  was  then  conducted  to  my  berth  by  the 
steward.  I  knelt  down  in  it,  and  committed  my- 
self, you,  father,  friends,  and  all  on  board  to  the 
Lord.  Felt  deeply  and  calmly  reposed.  And  here 
I  mark  his  hand — I  got  a  cabin  to  myself,  whilst 
the  other  passengers  were  placed  two  and  two  to- 
gether. The  scene  as  we  steamed  down  the  Mer- 
sey was  truly  exciting  to  most;  to  me  it  was  not. 
My  thoughts  were  on  my  work,  home,  the  need  of 


86  A   Sabbath  Afloat. 

close  walking  with  God;  all  these  pressed  on  me. 
I  walked  the  deck  alone,  yet  not  alone.  I  write  a 
note  to  yon.  The  pilot  left  us.  The  wind  fresh- 
ened and  we  sped  onward.  Night  settled  on  us, 
and  still  I  was  on  deck.  Oh,  it  was  strange,  pass- 
ing strange  to  me ;  and  most  of  all  to  watch  the 
phosphorous  light  dancing  on  the  crest  of  every 
wave  far  behind.  I  went  below  as  night  stole  on, 
and  committing  all  to  the  Lord,  fell  calmly  asleep. 

'^  Sabbath  morning  dawned,  and  with  it  a  raging 
sea,  rolling  mountains  high ;  each  wave  as  it  broke 
on  the  vessel's  side  made  her  quiver  from  one  end  to 
the  other ;  but  the  wind  was  favorable  and  on  we 
sped.  I  felt  that  there  was  no  Sabbath  on  board. 
All  was  bustle  and  confusion.  The  light-hearted 
gaiety  of  souls  without  God.  I  had  tracts  and  Bibles 
with  me;  these  I  went  and  gave  the  poor  sailors, 
who  had  none.  Never  did  1  see  such  gratitude  ex- 
pressed; it  saddened  my  inmost  heart.  Once  and 
again  I  have  asked  to  be  the  means  of  saving  souls 
in  this  vessel,  and  it  may  be  the  Lord's  will  to  do 
it.  How  solemn  a  matter  to  be  saved !  How  deeply 
momentous  the  issues  that  hang  on  not  being  saved. 
Not  saved,  though  the  Bible  is  read,  the  Spirit  strives, 
sermons  are  preached,  providences  are  sent — solemn 
thought !  Shutting  myself  in  my  cabin,  I  hope  I 
had  something  of  the  real  Sabbath-keeping  spirit. 
Yea,  I  dare  not  question  it,  for  I  felt  borne  up  and 
calmly  stayed  upon  the  Lord. 

"We  had  one  fearful  day  going  through  the  Bay 


''His   Ways  are  in  the  Sea^  87 

of  Biscay.  Most  of  the  passengers  were  sick.  I  felt 
rather  qiiahnish;  but  kept  on  deck,  for  1  was  anx- 
ious to  see  the  ocean  in  all  its  fury — and  certainly 
the  Bay  of  Biscay  is  the  place  to  see  this.  Now  and 
then  as  a  wave  broke  on  the  vessel,  the  noise  resem- 
bled thunder,  but  I  felt  no  fear ;  for  '  He  holdeth  the 
sea  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,'  '  His  ways  are  in  the 
sea '  was  forcibly  opened  up  to  me.  Who  would  look 
for  a  path  in  the  sea  ?  And  yet  so  strange  are  his 
dealings  (and  to  me  they  have  been  so)  as  to  look 
like  the  opening  of  a  way  m  the  sea. 

"  My  one  grand  desire  is  to  go  and  tell  of  Clmst 
and  Him  crucified,  looking  for  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  own  the  word  for  the  conversion  of 
souls.  I  am  compassed  about  with  a  great  cloud 
of  witnesses.  The  eye  of  Israel's  Shepherd  is  upon 
me.  Months,  years,  glide  on;  eternity  seems  at 
hand.  For  a  while,  earth  has  been  losing  much  of 
its  attractions  for  me;  and  heaven  with  its  un- 
dimmed  purity,  its  endless  pleasures,  its  streams 
of  bliss,  its  unAvithering  crown,  and  its  blessed  God, 
grows  sweeter  and  sweeter." 

At  Constantinople  he  was  received  with  much 
kindness  by  Messrs.  Thomson,  Turner,  and  McKutch- 
eon,  of  the  Free  Church  IMission  to  the  Jews.  Bitter 
was  his  disappointment  on  finding  that  military  law 
strictly  forbade  his  going  to  the  Crimea,  and  it  only 
remained  for  him  to  retiu*n  home,  as  other  missionary 
agents  had  done.     That  night  was  spent  in  prayer; 


88  The  Crimea  in  Sight. 

towards  dawn,  as  he  tells,  he  felt  in  his  heart  as  if 
God  had  heard  his  cry,  and  would  open  up  his  way. 
Next  day  accompanied  by  Mr.  (now  Dr.)  Thomson, 
he  applied  to  Admiral  Boxer  for  permission  to  go  to 
the  scene  of  strife ;  and  contrary  to  all  expectation 
that  officer  at  once  granted  him  his  request.  Great 
was  his  joy  and  gratitude,  and  cordially  did  he  praise 
God  for  "having  touched  the  Admiral's  heart." 

Losing  no  time,  he  embarked  on  board  a  transport 
conveying  soldiers,  and  quickly  found  himself  steam- 
ing up  the  Bosphorus,  and  entering  the  Black  sea. 
By  order  of  the  Admhal,  he  was  entitled  to  share 
cabin  accommodation  with  two  chaplains ;  but  when 
night  came  these  gentlemen,  forgetting  the  law  of 
love,  thrust  him  out.  A  kind-hearted  engineer  gave 
him  his  berth  in  the  forecastle,  but  he  could  not 
sleep.  The  condu*ct  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  was 
more  than  he  could  endure;  it  was  like  "hell  let 
loose,"  and  he  was  glad  to  escape  on  deck,  where 
under  the  starry  vault  of  heaven  he  spent  the  night, 
thinking  of  heaven  and  home,  praying  for  needed 
grace,  and  feeling  assured  that  the  unslumbering 
eye  of  Israel's  Shepherd  would  watch  over  him, 
and  all  would  be  well.  At  break  of  day  on  5th  De- 
cember they  sighted  the  Crimea,  and  when  they 
reached  Balaklava,  the  troops  were  ordered  on  shore 
at  once,  as  an  attack  was  expected  from  the  army 
ofLiprandi.  "All  was  mirth  and  excitement.  We 
could  distinctly  hear  the  booming  of  the  cannon, 
not  in  mere  holiday  salute,  but  in  deadly  earnest. 


The  State  of  the  Army.  89 

Wliat  a  tide  of  feeling  rushed  through  my  mind,  as 
I  thought  of  mothers  weeping  for  their  sons,  wives 
for  their  husbands,  and  sisters  for  their  brothers, 
whom  they  should  see  no  more,  and  of  the  brave 
men  fallen  in  battle,  their  bodies  buried  in  the  com- 
mon pit  near  the  field  of  strife,  and  their  spirits  pass- 
ing from  the  roar  of  battle  into  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  God.  Turning  to  my  text  for  the  day,  I 
was  cheered  when  1  found  it  was,  '  The  Lord  pre- 
serveth  those  that  love  Him.'  I  felt  I  was  nerved 
for  whatever  might  befall  me ;  and  stranger  though 
I  was — knowing  no  one,  as  a  messenger  of  peace, 
with  a  lion  heart  I  stepped  on  Crimean  soul. 

"Alma  had  been  fought,  and  Inkermann  won. 
The  thin  red  line  had  been  formed  on  the  plains  of 
Balaklava,  and  the  grand  death-charge  had  been 
made.  But  the  very  elements  had  risen  in  arms 
against  us.  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the 
state  of  the  army  at  this  time.  The  hospitals  were 
crowded;  many  were  dying.  Day  after  day,  ship 
after  ship  with  its  load  of  suffering  was  despatched 
to  Scutari.  Many  of  those  you  met  were  in  rags. 
]\Iost  were  emaciated  and  smitten  witli  hungrer. 
Some  were  almost  shoeless ;  many  had  biscuit-bags 
instead  of  trousers,  whilst  others  had  newspapers 
tied  round  their  legs ;  and  often  such  was  the  wretch- 
edness that  you  could  not  distinguish  officer  from 
man,  or  recognize  the  best  known." 

Matheson,  with  characteristic  generosity,  imme- 
diately gave  away  all  the  clothes  he  could  spare, 


90  Preaching  to  Sick  Soldiers. 

and  then  began  to  distribute  his  spiritual  stores  in 
the  shape  of  tracts  and  Bibles,  of  which  latter  there 
was  a  great  scarcity  in  the  camp.  The  books  and 
especially  the  Bibles  were  received  with  tlie  great- 
est eagerness,  and  read  with  wonderful  earnestness. 
Some  25,000  tracts,  selected  by  the  Tract  Society, 
by  Mr.  Drummond,  of  Stirling,  and  by  Miss  Marsh, 
were  quickly  put  into  circulation. 

"January  25th,  1855.  How  shall  I  describe  the 
scenes  I  hom-ly  see.  I  shrink  from  it ;  they  are  truly 
appalling.  The  condition  of  our  army  is  sad.  Yes- 
terday 600  were  brought  sick  from  Sebastopol,  and 
conveyed  on  board  ship.  I  took  my  stand  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  spoke  to  them  of  the  only  all- 
sufficient  Saviour.  IMany  listened  with  interest,  and 
at  last  the  gushing  tears  told  a  way  had  been  found 
to  the  heart.  My  heart  was  like  to  break.  Oh,  I 
have  often  felt  since  coming  here  that  the  one  thing 
needed  is  the  Holy  Ghost.  All  looked  haggard  and 
worn.  Death  is  thought  nothing  of  I  had  a  long 
conversation  with  an  officer  yesterday.  He  speaks 
of  the  demoralization  of  the  army  as  truly  awful, 
and  says  swearing  and  ungodliness  are  increasing. 
Since  I  came  here  I  have  not  gone  ten  paces  with- 
out hearing  profane  swearing.  And  yet  there  are 
hopeful  appearances.  .  .  .  The  taking  of  Sebas- 
topol is  no  easy  task.  There  seems  as  yet  no  recog- 
nition of  the  Lord's  giving  the  victory.  The  men 
are  greatly  dispirited;  yet,  strange  to  say,  long  for 
nothing  so  much  as  a  battle.     I  can,  and  do  at  this 


Hector  Macpherson.  91 

moment,  hear  the  roll  of  the  cannon.  At  every 
shot  my  heart  leaps,  for  usually  some  one  is  hurried 
into  eternity.  0  happy  peoj)le  whose  God  is  the 
Lord.  Truly  I  feel  it,  and  can  really  say  thoughts 
of  heaven  are  growing  sweeter  and  sweeter  every 
hour.  I  long  for  rest,  yet  am  resigned  to  his  will. 
O  how  fondly  my  affections  twine  around  home  and 
friends !  Huntly  !  I  cannot,  I  will  not  forget  it.  I 
see  other  scenes;  I  possess  other  friends;  but  the 
dear  saints  in  Huntly  and  in  Scotland  have  the 
largest  place.  ...  I  feel  there  is  nothing  I 
more  need  than  the  prayers  of  all  who  love  the 
Lord.  I  cannot  tell  what  I  may  have  to  undergo. 
All  is  in  the  Lord's  hands.  I  need  a  close,  calm,  and 
holy  walk  with  him.  One  needs  to  be  always  ready 
here,  for  it  is  a  death-stricken  scene.  My  comfoi-t  in 
my  work  is,  '  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul, 
and  shall  be  satisfied.'  Come,  Lord  Jesus  :  come 
quickly.     Amen." 

Mr.  Matheson  was  not  slow  in  seeking  out  men 
of  his  own  spirit  in  the  army.  His  first  acquaint- 
ance was  Hector  Macpherson,  drum-major,  Ninety- 
third  Highlanders,  a  soldier  both  of  his  country  and 
of  the  cross,  of  whom  our  missionary  used  to  tell  the 
following  story :  One  day  a  chaplain,  newly  arrived, 
called  on  the  sergeant,  and  asked  his  advice  as  to 
the  best  method  of  conducting  his  work.  "Come 
with  me,"  said  Hector,  "to  the  hill-top.  Now,  look 
around  you.  See  yonder  the  pickets  of  Liprandi's 
army.     See  yon  batteries  on  the  right,  and  the  men 


92  Prayer  in  the  Ravine, 

at  the  guns.  Mark  yon  trains  of  ammnnition.  Hear 
the  roar  of  that  cannon.  Look  where  you  may,  it 
is  all  earnest  here.  There  is  not  a  man  but  feels  it 
is  a  death  struggle.  If  we  don't  conquer  the  Eus- 
sians,  the  Kussians  will  conquer  us.  We  are  all  in 
earnest,  sir ;  we  are  not  playing  at  soldiers  here.  If 
you  would  do  good  you  must  be  in  earnest  too.  An 
earnest  man  will  always  win  his  way."  Such  was 
the  advice  of  Queen  Victoria's  servant  to  the  ser- 
vant of  Jesus  Christ. 

Hector  and  Duncan  on  the  first  Sabbath  after  the 
arrival  of  the  latter  retired  to  a  ravine,  and  there 
amid  the  deafening  roar  of  cannon,  which  the  mis- 
sionary thought  was  always  worse  on  the  Lord's 
day,  they  read,  and  prayed,  and  sang  together  the 
old  battle-song  of  David  and  Luther : 

"  God  is  our  refuge  and  our  strength, 
In  straits  a  present  aid  ; 
Therefore,  although  the  earth  remove, 
We  will  not  be  afraid. " 

LTere  making  intercession  for  their  friends  at 
home,  for  their  country,  and  for  the  army,  they 
found  a  Bethel;  and  for  a  moment  almost  forgot 
that  they  were  in  the  presence  of  one  of  the  great- 
est woes  of  earth.  "Thus  we  had  many  a  pleasant 
hour  together,"  says  our  missionary;  "and  the  only 
strife  we  ever  had  was  about  the  soldiers'  scanty 
meal  which  we  divided  between  us,  each  insisting 
that  the  other  should  have  the  larger  share.     Our 


First  Interview  with  Macpherson.  93 

watchword  without  which  we  never  met  or  parted, 
was  'The  Lord  reigneth.'" 

Mr.  H.  Macpherson,  writing  of  his  friend  says, 
"Onr  first  interview  took  place  on  a  ridge  within 
the  entrenchments  of  the  93d  Highlanders,  which 
ran  along  the  north  side  of  the  plain  of  Balaklava, 
opposite  the  harbor,  and  abont  a  mile  from  the  vil- 
lage, and  which  formed  the  key  of  the  base  of  the 
siege  operations  of  the  British  army.  I  was  stand- 
ing watching  the  movements  of  the  Eussian  forces, 
who  appeared  as  if  designing  to  threaten  our  posi- 
tion, when  I  noticed  a  stranger  in  the  attire  of  a 
civilian  approaching,  who  from  his  clean  white  breast 
and  respectable  dress,  contrasting  with  our  rags,  I 
concluded  was  a  minister  or  lay-missionary,  newly 
arrived.  This  supposition  led  me  to  resolve  on  ex- 
ercising caution  as  to  committing  myself  to  him, 
feeling  that  unless  he  was  a  man  of  God,  and  had 
thoroughly  counted  the  cost,  resolving  in  depend- 
ence on  promised  grace  to  throw  his  whole  soul  into 
the  work,  he  would  neither  gain  the  attention  nor 
win  the  heart's  affection  of  British  soldiers ;  for  car- 
rying their  life  in  their  hand,  they  are  above  every 
class  of  men  prejudiced  against  and  opposed  to  mere 
official  piety  and  ecclesiastical  hirelingism.  As  these 
thoughts  were  passing  through  my  mind,  the  stran- 
ger advanced,  and  in  his  own  unreservedly  frank 
and  manly  way  introduced  himself,  saying  with  real 
feeling,  'Oh,  Hector,  man  I  am  glad  to  see  you. 
How  are  you?'     Suspicions  quickly  vanished,  and 


94  The  Soldier's  Friend. 

I  felt  grateful  to  the  Disposer  of  every  event  that  in 
the  thick  of  deadly  strife  on  the  plain  of  Balaklava, 
I  first  met  Duncan  Matheson,  who  became  my  fond, 
fast  friend  for  life.  The  report  I  had  received  from 
a  worthy  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  Scotland,  of  Mr. 
Matheson's  character,  I  found  to  be  in  no  degree 
exaggerated,  and  I  reckon  it  one  of  my  most  highly- 
prized  privileges  on  earth  that  ever  I  became  ac- 
quainted with  such  a  man.  Since  that  day  many 
a  happy  and  profitable  hour  have  I  spent  in  his 
company ;  and  it  has  been  my  rare  privilege  to  be 
associated  with  him  in  evangelistic  labors  in  many 
towns,  villages,  and  rural  parishes  of  Scotland.  I 
could  not  fail  to  respect  him  for  his  great  ability ;  I 
admired  his  sterling  worth ;  his  unwearied,  self-de- 
nying devotedness  in  the  cause  and  service  of  God, 
his  manly  frankness  and  unflinching  courage,  and 
his  large-hearted  sympathy  with  distress,  all  tended 
to  endear  him  to  me  in  the  bonds  of  closest  friend- 
ship. Never  had  the  British  soldier  a  more  true, 
loving,  and  devoted  friend  than  Duncan  Mathe- 
son. I  believe  there  is  not  a  British  soldier  now 
alive,  who  served  in  the  Crimea,  but  would  heartily 
subscribe  to  my  testimony  in  his  favor ;  for  all,  both 
officers  and  men,  knew,  and  loved,  and  respected 
him.  As  to  the  fruit  of  his  labors  in  the  Crimea, 
the  day  of  God  will  declare.  My  own  conviction  is 
that  he  labored  more  abundantly,  and  accomplished 
more  real  good  among  the  troops,  than  all  the  others, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Eev.  J.  W.  Hayward,  a 


The  Ninety-third  Psalm.  95 

noble  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  who  de- 
voted his  time,  his  talents,  and  his  fortune,  to  the 
promotion  of  the  temporal  and  spiritual  benefit  of 
the  soldier.  With  this  zealous  and  faithful  servant 
of  Christ,  Mr.  Matheson  Avas  most  intimately  asso- 
ciated ;  they  were  daily  together,  and  went  hand  in 
hand  in  all  labors  of  love. 

"Happening  to  mention  to  my  friend,  just  after 
we  made  each  other's  acquaintance,  that  the  first 
clause  of  the  first  verse  of  the  93d  Psalm  had  been 
a  comfort  to  my  soul,  Mr.  Matheson,  feeling  the 
power  of  the  truth  m  his  own  heart,  and  realizing 
its  appropriateness  in  the  circumstances  in  which 
we  were  placed,  seized  it  as  a  watchword ;  and  ever 
after,  wherever  and  whenever  we  met,  'The  Lord 
reigneth'  became  the  password  between  us. 

"  Wherever  I  met  my  dear  liiend  I  was  sm-e  to 
find  him,  like  his  Master,  going  about  doing  good; 
sometimes  laden  with  Bibles,  sometimes  with  tracts 
and  other  suitable  books,  and  seldom  without  some 
temporal  comforts  for  the  sick  and  wounded.  Many 
of  the  sick,  wounded,  and  worn-out  soldiers,  was  he 
the  means  of  relieving,  and  who,  but  for  his  devoted, 
kind,  and  sympathizing  efforts,  would  have  sunk 
into  the  cold  embrace  of  death.  He  was  the  trusted 
friend  of  all,  French,  Turks,  and  Italians,  as  well  as 
his  own  countrymen.  Soldiers  of  every  grade  and 
nationality  looked  on  him  as  their  special  friend. 
How  he  managed  to  procure  in  a  time  of  famine  so 
many  comforts  for  the  starving  soldiers  was  a  mys- 


96       Procuring  Supplies  for  the  Suffering. 

tery;  but  none  knew  better  than.be,  'Where  there 
is  a  will  there  is  a  way.'  His  tact  and  genial  frank- 
ness made  him  a  favorite  with  the  captains  of  the 
mercantile  steamers  employed  by  the  Government, 
some  of  whom  were  truly  Christian  men.  By  the 
graphic  and  touching  descriptions  of  the  destitution 
and  sufferings  of  the  soldiers  in  the  entrenchments, 
backed  by  his  own  evident  sympathy,  he  reached  the 
warm  hearts  of  the  seamen ;  and  the  never-failing  re- 
sult was  a  thorough  searching  of  the  vessels  for  every 
thing  that  could  be  spared  for  the  benefit  of  the  suf- 
fering soldiers. 

"  Entering  the  encampment  of  the  93d  Highland- 
ers one"  icy  cold  winter  day,  he  observed  our  desti- 
tution of  fuel  either  to  cook  our  rations  or  warm  our 
persons.  The  great  majority  of  us  were  clothed  in 
rags ;  some  without  shoes ;  others  without  a  cap  to 
cover  their  heads  from  the  pelting  of  the  pitiless 
storm ;  and  some  of  us  with  more  mud  than  cloth- 
ing attached  to  our  bodies.  After  a  few  words  of 
loving  sympathy  he  said,  '  Hector,  I  must  try  and 
help  you.'  But  what  could  he  do  in  such  a  case? 
Why,  next  day  he  returned,  and  informed  me  that 
he  had  made  an  effort  and  succeeded  in  procuring 
several  tons  of  coals  fi'om  the  different  steamers  in 
the  harbor  of  Balaklava,  which  were  conveyed  to 
the  camp  as  soon  as  possible.  This  is  one  instalment 
of  many  noble  acts  of  kindness  done  to  the  sufferers 
in  that  terrible  winter.  For  the  relief  of  the  men 
who  were  exposed  not  only  to  the  hail  of  the  enemy's 


In  Season  and  ozit  of  Season.  97 

fire,  but  to  the  fierce  blasts  of  winter,  almost  with- 
out a  rag  to  cover  tliem,  he  labored  incessantly,  and 
unweariedly,  until  his  gigantic  efforts  broke  his  con- 
stitution down. 

"  But  what  he  chiefly  aimed  at  was  the  spiritual 
and  eternal  welfare  of  his  fellow-men.  The  soldiers 
understood  this ;  and  whenever  he  spoke  to  them  of 
salvation  they  listened  with  respectful  attention. 
They  knew  he  was  no  mere  official  hireling,  but  a 
man  who  loved  their  souls;  and  not  a  few  through 
his  instrumentality,  by  God's  almighty  and  distin- 
guishing grace,  have  been  prevented  from  going 
down  to  an  unblest  eternity.  In  his  love  to  souls 
he  forgot  himself  Often  have  I  had  to  make  a  cup 
of  coffee  to  relieve  his  fainting  frame,  after  a  weary 
day's  tramping  through  the  mud,  laden  with  pro- 
visions for  the  benefit  of  others,  whom  he  deemed 
in  more  absolute  need  than  himself  A  more  un- 
selfish man  I  never  knew.  With  the  exception  of 
the  late  Eev.  W.  C.  Burns,  I  never  knew  one  so  en- 
tirely devoted  to  the  good  of  others.  The  amount 
of  mental  and  physical  labor  he  went  through  in  the 
Crimea  was  truly  marvellous,  and  was  enough  to 
break  down  the  most  robust  constitution.  However 
wet  or  cold,  or  however  Adolent  the  storm,  he  was 
always  on  the  move,  and  always  with  a  special  and 
important  purpose.  On  one  of  the  most  tempestuous 
and  piercingly  cold  nights  I  ever  experienced  in  the 
Crimea  my  regiment  received  orders  to  move  eight 
or  ten  miles  to  the  south  of  our  entrenched  position, 
7 


98  Lodging  in  a  Stable, 

•under  cover  of  the  darkness  of  the  night,  to  dislodge 
a  body  of  the  enemy  from  a  threatening  position  they 
held  Tinder  the  covert  of  a  high  ridge.  We  were  ab- 
sent till  mid-day  following.  Matheson  was  informed 
of  this  expedition,  and  such  was  his  sympathy  with 
others,  that  although,  had  he  chosen  to  consult  his 
own  ease  and  comfort,  he  could  have  secured  pro- 
tection from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  he  re- 
mained exposed  in  our  original  position  until  our 
return.  I  shall  never  forget  the  joy  he  manifested 
when  he  saw  us  all  safely  return  without  a  single 
casualty,  with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  men's 
ears  having  been  bit  by  the  frosty  wind. 

"Mr.  Matheson  was  well  fitted  by  personal  expe- 
rience, and  much  owned  by  God,  in  encouraging, 
comforting,  and  strengthening  the  Christian  soldier 
in  the  Crimea,  both  officers  and  men.  It  was  a  spe- 
cial evidence  of  his  own  living  Christianity  that  he 
was  a  sincere  lover  of  all  in  whose  spirit,  temper, 
and  deportment  he  could  discover  the  impress  of 
Christ's  image,  without  distinction  as  to  sect  or 
creed." 

For  a  time  he  lodged  on  board  ship ;  afterwards 
he  took  up  his  abode  on  shore.  There  he  found  a 
wretched  lodging  in  an  old  stable,  of  which  he  took 
possession  with  right  good  cheer,  remembering  that 
his  Master  was  born  and  cradled  in  as  mean  a  place. 
It  was  too  well  ventilated,  for  the  fierce  wind  blew 
in  at  a  hmidred  crevices  in  wall  and  roof,  and  often 
as  it  whistled  through  the   crannies   overhead  it 


Defeatiiig  the  Rats.  99 

seemed  to  mock  the  shivering  missionary.  In  an 
nnoccupied  corner  he  erected  a  rude  and  comfortless 
bed,  on  which  at  the  close  of  each  day's  overwhelm- 
ing labor  he  laid  him  down  to  rest,  but  more  fre- 
quently to  pray  than  sleep.  To  increase  his  dis- 
comfort the  stable  was  infested  with  rats,  and  not 
a  night  passed  but  whole  armies  invaded  his  couch 
and  rendered  him  sleepless  and  miserable.  But 
"necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention;"  our  mis- 
sionary, whose  wits  often  began  where  other  peo- 
ple's end,  found  means  of  relief  Amongst  the  stores 
lying  in  one  end  of  the  stable  he  discovered  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  lucifer  matches,  which  the  Brit- 
ish Commissariat  in  its  wisdom  had  laid  up  here. 
Taking  a  large  supply  to  his  bedside  our  Scripture- 
reader  drops  asleep  with  a  box  in  one  hand  and  a 
bundle  of  matches  in  the  other.  By  and  by,  in  the 
silence  and  under  cover  of  night,  the  hungry  Russian 
hordes  stealthily  issue  fi'om  their  entrenchments, 
and  attack  the  person  of  the  hapless  foreigner. 
The  not  unexpected  sortie  awakens  the  slumber- 
ing Scotchman,  who  instantly  fires  his  rare  artil- 
lery ;  and  amidst  the  horrid  noise,  the  phospho- 
rescent blaze,  and  the  sulphureous  stench,  enough 
to  put  the  Cossacks  to  flight,  the  enemy  scamper 
off  in  all  directions,  leaving  the  missionary,  for  the 
present,  master  of  the  field. 

Yet  in  this  rude  dwelling  he  was  contented  and 
thankful ;  and  even  feared  it  was  too-  good  to  last 
long.     "My  room,"  he  says,  "is  quite  a  sight.     I 


100  Daily  Life  in  the  Crimea. 

have  paper  for  glass  in  the  wmdows;  in  some  of 
them  not  even  that.  My  furnitnre  consists  of  a  bed, 
which  also  serves  for  a  chair,  a  Kussian  chest  of 

drawers,  and  the  hay  for  Mr.  W 's  cow.    A  jelly 

jar,  a  brown  earthen  basin,  and  a  Turkish  jar  are  my 
dishes.  I  have  a  sort  of  lamp  for  making  my  coffee. 
My  pocket  knife  cuts  my  bread,  and  it  also  serves  for 
eating  my  ^^^  with ;  a  stick  serves  as  a  spoon  to  stir 
the  sugar  with ;  and  a  bottle  serves  for  a  candlestick. 
I  rise  early,  light  my  lamp,  make  my  coffee,  clean 
my  boots,  sweep  my  room  with  a  few  Turkish  feath- 
ers, and  I  can  tell  you  I  was  never  happier  in  my 
life.  I  have  a  perfect  palace,  and  I  have  decorated 
the  walls  with  copies  of  the  '  Illustrated  London 
News.'  I  fear  it  is  too  good  to  last,  but  it  is  in  the 
Lord's  hand.  How  contented  I  feel  with  all,  and 
how  well  it  is  that  I  learned  when  young  to  help 
myself  I  am  happy  as  a  king,  yea  ten  thousand- 
fold more  so  than  one  without  grace." 

From  his  journals  and  letters  it  is  not  difficult  to 
form  some  conception  of  his  daily  life  in  the  Crimea. 
Eising  early  he  prepares  his  breakfast,  and  seeks 
refreshment  to  his  spirit  in  meditation  and  prayer. 
Whilst  he  intercedes  for  all,  the  Sardinian  army  lies 
upon  his  heart  like  a  prophet's  burden.  Having  thus 
renewed  his  strength,  he  carefully  selects  tracts  and 
books  for  distribution.  His  next  step  is  to  visit  the 
harbor,  Avhere  his  loud,  hearty  voice  wakens  the 
echoes  in  many  a  Ijluff,  kind  response  on  board  ship. 
Humor  and  pathos  are  keys  to  open  the  heart  of 


/;/  tJie  Hospitals  and  Camp.  loi 

Jack,  and  the  missionary  is  master  of  both.  A  sick 
soHier  is  in  the  crisis  of  disease,  and  he  succeeds 
in  procm^ing  some  dehcacy  for  the  prostrate  war- 
rior. Another  whom  he  met  the  day  before  suffers 
from  a  threatening  cough  ;  an  old  woollen  shu't 
may  save  the  poor  fellow's  life.  Away  he  goes  with 
his  cargo  of  stores,  temporal  and  spiritual,  and 
trudges  through  unfathomable  mud  till  he  reaches 
the  camp.  In  the  hospitals  he  ministers  to  the  sick 
and  womided  with  the  skill  and  tenderness  of  a 
woman ;  and  when  by  gentle  touches  of  humanity 
he  has  smoothed  the  sufferer's  pillow,  he  tries  to 
point  to  Jesus,  and  allure  to  heaven. 

As  he  passes  through  the  camp  he  hails  every  body, 
and  is  hailed  hi  turn ;  for  his  is  the  pecuhar  gift  of 
knowing  every  one,  and  making  himself  known  to 
all.  Now  you  hear  him  talking  in  his  broadest  Doric 
to  some  countryman,  and  anon  he  is  jabbering  in 
broken  French  or  Italian.  Under  cover  of  a  cool, 
easy,  off-hand  exterior  he  conceals  an  uitense  desire 
to  say  some  good,  strong  thing  bearing  on  eternity; 
and  rarely  is  the  opportunity  missed  of  making  the 
home-thrust  right  under  the  fifth  rib.  Sometimes  he 
is  repulsed,  but  he  knows  conscience  is  on  his  side. 
Sometimes  he  is  answered  with  a  smile,  and  "Ah, 
sir,  that  is  all  very  well,  but  it  won't  do  here."  This 
is  a  good  opening  for  the  missionary's  heaviest  shot. 
"  But  death  is  here,  and  how  are  you  going  to  meet 
God?"  Occasionally  he  is  met  with  a  raking  fire  of 
profanity,  and  is  put  to  grief  and  silence.     He  tries 


102  III  the  Market. 

all  bis  keys  into  the  locked  heart.  Perhaps  the  man 
was  once  at  the  Sabbath-school ;  perhaps  he  has  a 
mother,  the  traces  of  whose  love  even  sin  can  hardly 
obliterate.  He  finds  an  opening  at  length,  and  the 
man  who  met  him  with  swearing  and  laughter  goes 
away  in  tears.  Onward  amidst  the  tents  the  mis- 
sionary holds  his  way,  a  strong  sower  scattering  good 
wheat  npon  the  waters — the  folly  of  reason,  and  the 
wisdom  of  faith.  Sometimes  his  heart  faints  within 
him ;  but  he  quickly  renews  his  strength  in  fellow- 
ship with  some  one  of  his  godly  friends. 

After  a  hard  day's  work  he  makes  his  way  to  the 
market  at  Kadi  Keni,  to  "forage"  for  dinner.  Here 
too  he  often  does  some  business  for  his  Master.  Fre- 
quently, indeed,  he  stands  for  hours  amidst  a  crowd 
gathered  out  of  many  nations,  and  endeavors  to  find 
an  entrance  for  the  word  of  life.  On  returning  home, 
he  cooks  his  meal  only  to  find  that  his  appetite  is 
gone.  But  dinner  or  no  dinner  his  day's  work  is 
not  yet  done. 

The  last  hours  of  the  day  are  spent  in  writing  his 
journal  and  in  attending  to  a  vast  correspondence 
by  letter.  Many  write  him  from  all  parts  of  the 
three  kingdoms,  inquiring  about  their  relatives  and 
friends  in  the  army.  Not  one  scrap  is  neglected, 
and  an  answer  is  duly  sent.  Commissioned  by  the 
sick  and  wounded,  he  writes  on  their  behalf  to  wife, 
or  mother,  or  sister,  or  affianced  one,  far  away. 
Besides  all  that  he  must  prepare  his  quarterly  report, 
and  noi  forget  the  claims  upon  his  pen  of  his  numer- 


Abundant  Labors.  103 

oils  friends,  whilst  the  public  ear  must  be  gratified 
by  stirring  letters  in  the  newspapers  and  religious 
periodicals.  His  writing  is  not  done  in  an  easy 
chair  and  slippers ;  it  is  subject  to  frequent  interi'up- 
tion  by  visitors  from  the  allied  camps,  for  whom  the 
old  stable  begins  to  have  rare  attractions.  Be  he 
soldier  or  navvy,  Sardinian  or  Turk,  officer  or  man, 
the  missionary  is  at  his  visitor's  service.  The  pen 
is  laid  aside  for  the  employment  of  his  most  effective 
weapon — frank,  genial,  copious,  and  forcible  speech. 
His  words  are  often  quaint  in  the  extreme,  but  they 
are  as  nails  fastened  in  a  sure  place.  The  oddity 
of  his  sayings  may  provoke  a  smile;  but  he  is 
a  wise  fisher  of  men,  and  knows  how  to  bait  his 
hooks. 

Such  then  is  his  daily  life  in  the  Crimea;  and  ere 
the  last  sand  of  the  glass  has  seen  him  rise  fi-om  his 
knees  to  creep  into  his  corner  for  the  night,  it  is  no 
more  than  truth  to  say  that  the  work  of  two  days 
has  been  pressed  into  one. 

A  few  extracts  from  his  published  journals  may 
be  here  given : 

"April  10th.  At  Sebastopol.  A  sheet  of  fire  as 
it  were  encircled  it;  the  engines  of  death  poured 
forth  their  deadly  volleys — the  sun  shone  forth 
brightly,  marking  forth  each  embrasure  in  bold 
relief  in  the  devoted  city.  It  was  a  trying  sight, 
and  finding  no  opportunities  of  usefulness,  owing  to 
the  excitement  prevalent,  I  retired  early  to  my  quar- 
ters, anxious  that  the  day  might  soon  arrive  when 


104  Parting  with  Friends, 

the  alarm  of  war  should  be  heard  no  more,  and  the 
din  of  battle  be  forever  hushed. 

"April  14th.  Took  farewell  of  the  Hospital  Ship, 
where  for  nine  weeks  I  had  been  living.  My  work 
on  board  was  pleasant  and  painful — far  more  pleas- 
ant th.an  painful ;  for  I  sought  to  know  amongst  them 
nothing  else  'save  Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified.' 
I  had  spoken  to  many  of  them  about  their  souls — 
had  prayed  by  their  sick  beds,  and  given  them  many 
tracts,  and  the  result  of  all  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day  shall  bring  to  light.  May  it  be  found  that  the 
arrow  of  conviction  had  reached  some  heart,  and 
that  souls  there  had  been  'born  again  to  God.' 

"April  16th.    On  board  Transport  No. to  visit 

the  soldiers  invalided  for  England.  Many  a  poor 
sick  man  seemed  to  revive  at  the  prospect  of  once 
again  meeting  those  he  loved  in  his  native  land. 
The  scene  could  not  be  described ;  it  was  pleasure 
mingling  with  pain;  they  Avere  going  home,  yet 
leaving  many  friends  behmd.  They  had  high  hopes 
yet  many  fears.  I  had  known  most  of  them  during 
the  winter,  and  the  most  devoted  of  all  my  friends 
and  the  best  loved  was  amongst  them.  Gladly  was 
I  welcomed  each  day.  I  went  on  board  ere  they 
started,  and  the  supply  of  tracts  given  for  the  voy- 
age was  highly  valued.    To  each  I  gave  a  Testament 

for  reading  on  the  voyage,  the  gift  of  Colonel  L , 

and  had,  to  remind  them  of  the  Crimea,  to  write  my 
name  in  each.  I  parted  with  them  with  much  sor- 
row, which  I  believe  was  mutual.     As  I  saw  the 


A  Halloiuing  Hoiir.  105 

vessel  leave  the  harbor  a  tumult  of  feelings  filled 
my  heart.  These  veteran  sick  soldiers  were  lea\4ng 
the  land  where  they  had  known  so  many  trials — 
met  so  many  difficulties — seen  such  deadly  ^vork. 
I  could  only  commend  them  to  the  care  of  Him  wdio 
holdeth  the  winds  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and 
who  could  guide  them  safely  to  then*  own  father- 
land. 

"April  18th.  I  am  distributing  tracts  on  the 
wharfs — met  a  soldier  wdio  had  been  long  confined 
to  hospital.  I  had  met  him  before,  and  had  gained 
his  confidence.  He  asked  me  to  go  aside  and  talk 
with  him.  I  did  so,  and  his  first  inquiry  was  for  a 
Bible :  he  said  he  had  never  read  it,  or  had  one  to 
read,  being  deeply  opposed  to  it,  now  he  felt  the  need 
of  reading  it  for  himself  I  had  much  conversation 
with  him  about  the  need  of  spiritual  religion,  and 
commending  the  Lord  Jesus  to  liim  and  giving  him 
my  last  Bible,  bade  him  for  the  present  farewell,  as 
he  had  to  go  to  his  battery  on  the  following  day. 

"April  20th.     Spent  the  afternoon  with  Colonel 

,  sick  on  board  ship.     Rarely,  if  ever,  have  I 

spent  such  a  hallowing  hour.  He  told  me  much  of 
the  Lord's  kind  dealings  with  him,  and  the  marvel- 
lous way  He  had  led  him  since  called  by  his  Spirit 
to  be  a  partaker  of  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  ever- 
blessed  God.  He  has  done  much  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  his  men,  and  returns  to  England  beloved 
by  all,  yet  his  loss  is  deeply  regretted.  Before  leav- 
ing he  made  me  a  present  of  several  copies  of  the 


io6  Balaklava. 

Scriptures  in  all  the  languages  of  tlie  East,  and  a 
goodly  number  of  English  and  French  Testaments. 

"  April  22d.     In  the  evening  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 

G ,  railway  chaplain ;  held  open-air  service ;  the 

attendance  was  good,  most  being  soldiers.  It  was 
sweet  to  sing  songs  of  praise  on  the  outskirts  of  Bal- 
aklava, and  pleasant  to  hear  the  voice  of  prayer 
amidst  the  round  of  oaths  and  blasphemy  from  the 
huts  around. 

"  In  the  front,  at battery,  met  one  of  the  most 

pleasing  trophies  of  grace  it  has  been  my  privilege 

to  witness,  in  the  case  of  bombardier .    Truly  the 

meeting  was  a  joyous  one  to  both.  He  has  charge  of 
the  hospital  attached  to  the  battery,  and  every  good 
influence  he  brings  to  bear  on  the  invalids.  It  has 
been  his  custom,  in  case  he  should  be  taken  prison- 
er, to  carry  his  Bible  in  his  breast  with  him  to  the 
trenches  or  on  the  march — as  he  remarked,  '  if  taken 
prisoner  he  should  at  least  have  one  to  speak  to 
him.'  Yes,  and  I  believe  he  hears  and  follows  the 
voice  as  few,  very  few  soldiers  are  found  to  do.  We 
walked  long  together,  and  next  day  he  visited  me, 
and  we  had  prayer  and  reading  the  Word.  A  pleas- 
ing trait  in  his  character  is,  he  supports  an  aged  fa- 
ther in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  that  very  day 
gave  me  seven  sovereigns  to  transmit  for  him. 

"  A  Russian  officer,  taken  prisoner  a  few  days  ago, 
called  on  me,  and  through  an  interpreter  asked  for 
a  Bible.  I  presented  him  with  one,  for  which  he 
seemed  very  grateful.     An  opportunity  of  giving  the 


I 


Wounded  Soldiers.  107 

Eussian  Testaments  now  and  tlaen  presents  itself, 
and  it  is  embraced. 

"April  29tli.  A  good  few  were  wounded  last 
night  in  the  trenches  by  a  sortie  made  from  Sebas- 
topol.  They  were  brought  to  hospital  to-day,  and  to 
those  not  seriously  hurt  I  gave  a  Testament.  Poor 
fellows !  they  seemed  much  softened  and  melted.  I 
was,  and  have  often  been,  much  struck  by  their  calm 
endurance  of  pain,  and  their  unwavering  fortitude. 

"  A  corporal  of  artillery  called  on  me  for  tracts 
and  books,  for  himself  and  a  few  comrades  attached 
to  the  siege-train.  They  have  not  the  same  time 
many  others  have,  and  it  was  the  more  pleasing  to 
see  their  desire  for  reading. 

"  Visited  Mam  Guard,  and  presented  each  soldier 
on  guard  with  a  Bible.  I  found  confined  a  soldier 
transported  for  life.  In  a  fit  of  intoxication  he  had 
seized  a  musket  and  fired  it,  wounding  a  man.  I 
spoke  kindly  to  him  of  his  condition  as  a  sinner  in 
the  sight  of  a  holy  God,  and  tried  to  open  up  the 
heart-cheering,  soul-comforting,  soul-saving  truth — 
'  It  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  accepta- 
tion that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners — even  the  chief: '  the  strong  man  was  un- 
manned and  bowed  to  the  dust.  It  seemed  deeply 
to  touch  his  heart — the  message  of  mercy  carried 
to  him,  and  the  kindness  in  visiting  him.  I  pre- 
sented him  with  a  Bible,  which  in  his  solitary  con- 
finement he  promised  to  read,  and  took  farewell  of 
him,  to  see  him  no  more  on  earth — in  the  earnest 


io8  The  Evening  Fnneral. 

hope  that  he  might  yet  be  a  trophy  of  redeeming 
love — a  diadem  in  Immanuel's  croAvn,  in  the  day 
when  lie  maketh  up  his  jewels.  It  seemed  on  leav- 
ing as  if  I  could  sing  with  a  joyous  heart : 

'*  '  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood, 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood, 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains. ' 

"  Presenting  a  Testament  to  a  sailor,  he  said,  '  It's 
of  no  use  to  offer  me  that ;  I  hate  my  work  and 
every  thing  else ;  my  life  is  a  torment  to  me ;  and, 
alas,  it's  all  one  thing.'  Argued  with  him,  if  this 
was  so  bad  a  world,  would  it  not  be  wiser  to  seek  a 
better  one  to  come  ?  and  urged  on  him  the  necessity 
of  doing  so.  He  took  the  Testament  with  the  prom- 
ise of  reading  it. 

"  Visited  by  Quarter-master-sergeant.  We  spent 
the  afternoon  together  in  reading  and  prayer. 

"  Attended  and  took  part  with  the  Kev.  G.  G , 

at  the  funeral  of  a  man  killed  by  accident ;  it  was  a 
heart-touching  scene.  In  the  evening,  just  as  the  sun 
had  sunk,  we  moved  beyond  the  lines ;  the  grave 
was  already  made,  and  the  busy  hum  of  voices  could 
be  distinctly  heard  in  the  camp.  As  we  stood  in 
prayer  around  the  grave,  the  gentle  breeze  bore 
the  sound  of  the  cannonade  distinctly  towards  us. 
The  company  gathered  were  select  and  numerous, 
and  I  believe  every  one  felt  as  we  stood  by  the  open 
grave,  we  were  in  the  midst  of  strangers — far  from 


Cholera.  109 

home,  friends,  and  country.  As  tlie  address  pro- 
ceeded, marked  impressions  were  made,  and  I  be- 
lieve I  am  right  in  saying,  the  Lord  was  with  iis  of 
a  truth. 

"  Visited  by  a  sergeant  of  the at  three  o'clock 

P.M.,  and  by  ten  he  was  dead.  Whilst  with  me  I 
could  see  symptoms  of  cholera  on  his  countenance, 
but  little,  ah,  little  did  I  think,  when  speaking  to 
him,  he  would  be  so  soon  in  eternity.  This  terrible 
scourge  has  again  broken  out  in  our  army.  We  are 
surrounded  on  all  hands-  by  death  and  disease,  and 
life  is  felt  to  be  most  uncertain.  How  solemn  to 
see  the  mighty  mass  hurrying  to  the  grave — how 
solemnizing  to  see  such  crowds  marching  to  eter- 
nity. Even  during  my  stay  in  this  land  I  can  look 
back  and  see  tents  recrowded,  but  not  by  those  I 
had  known ;  ranks  filled,  but  not  by  those  to  whom 
dice  and  again  it  had  been  my  privilege  to  address 
the  Gospel  message  of  salvation.  Thousands  have 
passed  away,  as  the  leaves  in  autumn  or  the  snow- 
flakes  before  the  sun.  Often  when  sinking,  at 
heart,  have  I  wished  I  could  cry  in  the  ears  of  God- 
taught  souls  at  home,  '  What  meaneth  thy  sleep  ? 
Are  you  girding  yourselves  for  the  conflict?  Are 
you  wrestling  with  the  God  of  Jacob  and  prevail- 
ing ? '  Ay,  and  it  has  come  with  deeper  force,  as  I 
have  seen  the  Lord  during  the  last  few  months 
gathering  home  His  children  from  the  army,  and 
leaving  it  well-nigh  forsaken  of  those  who  fear  His 
name. 


no  A  Friend  in  Need. 

"  All  tilings  at  present  speak  loudly,  and  urge  to 
instant,  deep,  believing,  persevering  prayer  for  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  waters  may  break 
out  in  the  wilderness,  and  streams  in  the  desert : 

*♦  *  Then  shall  the  earth  yield  her  increase; 
God,  our  God,  bless  us  shall. 
God  shall  us  bless ;  and  of  the  earth, 
The  ends  shall  fear  Him  all.'  " 

In  Mr.  Hayward,  an  English  chaplain  and  de- 
voted minister  of  Christ,  he  found  a  true  friend.  In 
all  his  troubles  Mr.  Hayward  came  to  his  help. 
When  about  to  be  evicted  from  his  humble  dwell- 
ing, the  good  chaplain  interfered,  and  he  was  al- 
lowed to  remain.  When  the  priest  at  Balaklava 
attempted  to  stop  the  distribution  of  tracts,  his  faith- 
ful friend  withstood  the  priest,  and  the  work  went 
on.  They  labored  much  together.  Laden  with  ma- 
terial and  spiritual  comforts,  they  often  sallied  forth 
in  company  to  visit  the  sick,  the  wounded,  and  the 
dying.  Sometimes  they  did  their  cooking  together, 
the  Kev.  chaplain  trying  his  culinary  skill  in  mak- 
ing a  pudding  of  biscuit,  while  the  lay  missionary 
washed  a  few  potatoes  which  he  had  been  fortunate 
enough  to  procure  about  the  ships.  At  every  junc- 
ture in  the  war  they  retired  to  a  lonely  spot  to  pray ; 
and  never  could  Matheson  forget  the  impression 
made  upon  his  heart  when  as  they  knelt  Hayward 
would  raise  his  noble  countenance  toward  heaven, 
and  amidst  the  thunder  of  the  cannon  plead  with  a 


Sad  Sio^hts.  m 


"e. 


voice  full  of  emotion,  "  Lord,  prepare  those  that  are 
appointed  to  die."  They  organized  a  service  in 
which,  besides  prayer,  praise,  and  preaching,  Hay- 
ward  introduced  the  practice  of  reading  all  round. 
This  gave  additional  interest  to  the  meeting ;  and 
it  was  pleasing  to  see  a  general  and  a  navvy  read- 
ing each  his  verse  in  turn.  The  devoted  chaplain 
spent  his  private  means  in  promoting  the  good  of 
the  soldiers.  At  length,  exhausted  by  his  great 
labors,  he  fell  ill,  and  was  obliged  to  leave.  In  his 
last  sermon — a  memorable  one — he  told  his  audi- 
ence he  had  changed  his  mind  in  regard  to  the 
apostolical  succession ;  he  now  believed  that  all  who 
brought  souls  to  Jesus  were  of  the  true  apostolical 
succession.  His  friend,  our  Scripture-reader,  as- 
sisted in  conveying  him  on  board  ship,  and  they 
laid  him  gently  down  upon  the  quarter  deck  beside 
other  sick  ones,  to  whom  the  afflicted  chaplain  be- 
gan to  speak  of  Christ.  There  ]\Iatheson  and  Hay- 
ward  parted,  with  such  pangs  of  sorrow  as  large 
and  true  hearts  only  feel.  The  two  faithful  soldiers 
of  the  cross  now  worship  and  serve  where  the  d'in 
of  war  is  hushed  forever,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest. 
Sad  were  the  sights  witnessed  by  the  Scripture- 
reader  every  day.  Hundreds  of  sick  and  wounded 
were  brought  down  to  Balaklava — famished,  ema- 
ciated, clothed  in  rags,  many  a  noble  form,  a  total 
wreck  from  lack  of  timely  aid.  He  wept  at  the 
sight.  The  sufferers  fixed  then-  eyes  on  him  in 
touching  appeal,  and  many  uttered  a  piercing  cry 


112  Dying  Soldiers. 

for  water.  He  did  what  lie  could.  Some  of  tliem 
he  saw  die  on  the  wharf  On  board  many  lay  hud- 
dled together  under  the  open  hatchway.  Some  lay 
on  bags  of  biscuit — anywhere,  anywhere  in  the  hur- 
ry and  helplessness.  "  Scotland  I'll  never  see  again," 
was  the  heart-piercing  lament  of  a  poor  Scotch  sol- 
dier laddie.  Ah,  no !  Poor  boy,  he  never  did  see  Scot- 
land again.  A  Lincolnshire  lad  whom  he  sought  and 
found  was  unable  to  speak  a  word.  "Your  mother 
bade  me  seek  you,"  said  the  missionary.  At  this 
word  the  dying  soldier  suddenly  revived,  and  ex- 
claimed, "My  mother!  0  my  mother!"  It  was  the 
last  flicker  of  the  candle.  He  said  no  more,  and 
died.  The  last  tender  throb  of  his  heart  was  given 
to  her  who  had  knoAvn  its  first  gentle  beat. 

Suffering  does  not  necessarily  soften  and  refine. 
Feelings  and  affections  are  tender  plants:  unless 
care  is  taken,  rough  winds  blight  and  kill  them. 
A  heart-hardening  process  in  the  army  was  only 
too  apparent.  One  day  the  missionary,  marking  the 
conduct  of  a  burying  party  who  had  cast  the  dead 
into  a  pit  with  no  ordinary  levity,  admonished  them 
with  much  feeling  and  impressiveness.  A  party  of 
soldiers  was  one  fine  day  seen  playing  at  cards  in 
the  trenches.  A  shot  laid  one  of  them  low.  In- 
stantly they  rose,  and  carrying  the  dead  man  away, 
returned  in  a  few  minutes  and  resumed  the  game. 
Despite  all  this  callousness  of  heart,  the  missionary 
often  succeeded  in  making  an  impression  even  to 
tears.     In  particular,  he  knew  how  to  reach  the 


Burial  of  Dead  Tracts,  113 

hearts  of  his  coiintiymen,  and  not  seldom  did  he 
unseal  the  fountains  of  emotion  by  an  allusion  to 
Auld  Scotland,  the  scenes  of  boyhood,  the  parish 
school,  a  question  in  the  Shorter  Catechism,  or 
the  23d  Psalm,  "The  Lord's  my  Shepherd;  I'll  not 
want,"  learned  at  a  mother's  knee. 

He  was  very  careful  in  respect  of  the  matter  con- 
tained in  the  tracts  he  put  into  circulation.  By 
whomsoever  issued  he  cared  not,  provided  only 
they  contained  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  A  great 
heap  of  Popish  trash,  full  of  Mariolatry,  coming  into 
his  possession,  he  was  at  a  loss  how  to  dispose  of 
them.  By  the  help  of  a  party  of  soldiers,  lie  dug  a 
deep  trench.  "There,"  he  says,  "we  gave  them  de- 
cent burial;"  adding  with  grim  humor,  "We  read 
no  burial  service  over  them,  and  dropped  no  tears ; 
but  quietly  said  in  our  hearts,  '  Let  the  memorj''  of 
the  wicked  rot. ' "  Such  was  the  bm^al  of  dead  tracts. 
Another  heap,  "all  about  schism,  and  not  at  all  about 
Christ,"  he  thrust  into  a  Russian  furnace,  at  which 
he  and  a  friend  warmed  their  toes.  In  all  con- 
science they  knew  enough  already  about  schism 
in  the  Crimea ;  what  they  needed  was  union  with 
Christ  and  peace.  A  third  parcel  of  rubbish  he  took 
out  in  a  boat,  and  cast  the  dangerous  lies  into  the 
sea.  "We  put  poison  out  of  the  way  of  children," 
says  he.     This,  verily,  was  soldier-like  work. 

One  night,  weary  and  sad,  he  was  returning  from- 
Sebastopol  to  his  poor  lodgings  in  the  old  stable  at 
Balaklava.     He  had  labored  all  day  with  unflag- 
8 


1 14  Sweet  Thoughts  of  Rest. 

•ging  energy,  and  now  his  strength  was  gone.  He 
was  sickened  with  the  sights  he  had  seen,  and  was 
depressed  with  the  thought  that  the  siege  was  no 
nearer  an  end  than  ever.  As  he  trudged  along  in 
the  mud  knee-deep,  he  happened  to  look  up  and 
noticed  the  stars  shining  calmly  in  the  clear  sky. 
Instinctively  his  weary  heart  mounted  heavenward 
in  sweet  thoughts  of  the  "rest  that  remaineth  for 
the  people  of  God,"  and  he  began  to  sing  aloud  the 
well-known  Scriptural  verses : 

••  How  bright  these  glorious  spirits  shine  ! 
Whence  all  their  white  array  ? 
How  came  they  to  the  blissful  seats 
Of  everlasting  day  ? 

*'Lo  !  these  are  they  from  sufferings  great, 
Who  came  to  realms  of  light, 
And  in  the  blood  of  Christ  have  washed 
Those  robes  which  shine  so  bright." 

Next  day  was  wet  and  stormy,  and  when  he  went 
out  to  see  what  course  to  take,  he  came  upon  a  sol- 
dier standing  for  shelter  below  the  veranda  of  an 
old  house.  The  poor  fellow  was  in  rags,  and  all  that 
remained  of  shoes  upon  his  feet  were  utterly  insuffi- 
cient to  keep  his  naked  toes  from  the  mud.  Alto- 
gether he  looked  miserable  enough.  The  kind- 
hearted  missionary  spoke  words  of  encouragement 
to  the  soldier,  and  gave  him  at  the  same  time  half 
a  sovereign  with  which  to  purchase  shoes,  suggest- 
ing that  he  might  be  supplied  by  those  who  were 


k 


A  Soldier  Saved  from  Stiicide.  115 

burying  the  dead.  The  soldier  offered  his  warmest 
thanks,  and  then  said,  "I  am  not  what  I  was  yester- 
day. Last  night,  as  I  was  thinking  of  our  miserable 
condition,  I  grew  tired  of  life,  and  said  to  myself, 
Here  we  are  not  a  bit  nearer  taking  that  place  than 
when  we  sat  down  before  it.  I  can  bear  this  no 
longer,  and  may  as  well  try  and  put  an  end  to  it. 
So  I  took  my  musket  and  went  down  yonder  in  a 
desperate  state  about  eleven  o'clock;  but  as  I  got 
round  the  point,  I  heard  some  person  singing  'How 
bright  these  glorious  spirits  shine,'  and  I  remembered 
the  old  tune  and  the  Sabbath-school  where  we  used 
to  sing  it.  I  felt  ashamed  of  being  so  cowardly,  and 
said,  Here  is  some  one  as  badly  off  as  myself,  and 
yet  he  is  not  giving  in.  I  felt  he  had  something  to 
make  him  happy  of  which  I  was  ignorant,  and  I 
began  to  hope  I  too  might  get  the  same  happiness. 
I  returned  to  my  tent,  and  to-day  I  am  resolved  to 
seek  the  one  thing."  "Do  you  know  who  the  singer 
was  ?  "  asked  the  missionary.  "No,"  was  the  reply. 
"Well,"  said  the  other,  "it  was  I;"  on  which  the 
tears  rushed  into  the  soldier's  eyes,  and  he  requested 
the  Scripture-reader  to  take  back  the  half  sovereign, 
saying,  "  Never,  sir,  can  I  take  it  from  you,  after 
what  you  have  been  the  means  of  doing  for  me." 

He  says  he  did  not  find  many  real  Christians  in 
the  army.  There  were  a  few  stars  of  the  first  mag- 
nitude, and  they  shone  conspicuous  in  so  dark  a 
sky.  Our  lay  missionary  was  not  long  in  discover- 
ing those  who  feared  the  Lord ;  and  he  found  in  them 


Ii6  Hedley  Vicars. 

true  friends.  The  first  time  lie  entered  the  tent  of 
Capt.  Hedley  Vicars,  he  observed  that  although  the 
officer  was  absent  at  the  time,  his  Bible  lay  opened 
upon  a  sort  of  table  made  of  an  old  box.  Thus  the 
godly  Vicars  showed  his  colors,  the  open  Bible  in- 
timating to  all  who  entered  on  what  terms  they 
might  have  his  fellowship.  "His  manliness  and 
whole-heartedness,"  says  Mr.  Matheson,  "struck 
you  at  once.  There  was  nothing  morose  or  gloomy 
about  him ;  nothing  to  repel.  He  retained  the  fresh- 
ness of  boyhood  with  wisdom  above  his  years.  \\. 
our  first  meeting  my  heart  was  glued  to  him  at  once." 
In  his  journal  he  writes:  "March  19th.  AtSebasto- 
pol.  Met  with  Dr.  Cay  and  Major  Ingram  in  Vicars' 
tent.  We  had  prayer  and  reading  the  Word  to- 
gether. It  was  to  us  all  a  well  in  the  desert,  a 
bright  spot  amidst  surrounding  gloom.  We  blessed 
God  on  hearing  that  a  day  of  national  humiliation 
and  prayer  was  appointed.  Cay  and  Vicars  accom- 
panied me  on  my  way.  After  Cay  left  us  Vicars 
and  I  stood  on  the  plateau  above  Sebastopol,  the 
doomed  city,  as  it  was  often  called,  lying  in  its 
beauty  before  us.  The  sky  was  without  a  cloud; 
the  sea  was  as  calm  as  a  pond.  It  was  on  one  of 
those  sweet  evenings  you  never  can  forget.  Our 
conversation  was  on  the  purity,  blessedness  and 
endless  peace  of  heaven,  where  the  din  of  battle 
shall  never  be  heard,  nor  the  strifes  of  earth  be 
known.  We  expressed  to  one  another  much  long- 
ing to  reach  it.     Speaking  of  some  who  had  gone, 


Bombardier  APL.  117 

we  remembered  Peden  at  the  grave  of  Cam- 
eron exclaiming,  '0  to  be  wi'  Ritchie!'  and  our 
feehng  was  the  same.  AVe  could  hardly  part.  He 
agreed  to  meet  and  spend  a  day  with  me  at  Bal- 
aklava." 

On  the  day  fixed  for  the  meeting  Hedley  Vicars 
was  taken  home  to  his  God.  Matheson  was  over- 
whelmed with  grief,  and  could  only  exclaim,  '  Dear, 
dear  Vicars ! "  As  he  stood  beside  the  grave  on  the 
day  of  burial  he  felt  in  his  inmost  heart  as  if  "  an- 
other link  had  been  snapped  on  earth,  and  another 
bond  formed  in  heaven." 

One  of  his  best  friends  was  Bombardier  M'L.,  a 
warm-hearted  Highlander  and  a  Christian.  Just  as 
the  alarm  was  sounded  and  the  men  were  called  to 
arms,  Mr.  Matheson  on  entering  the  bombardier's 
tent  found  him  buckling  himself  for  the  fight  and 
putting  his  Bible  into  his  bosom,  saying,  "If  I  fall, 
it  will  be  there :  and  if  I  am  taken  prisoner,  it  will 
speak  to  me,  and  I  can  never  be  weary  with  such  a 
companion."  One  day  when  they  had  retired  to  a 
quiet  spot  for  prayer  and  reading  of  the  Word  of  God, 
a  shell  dropped  at  their  feet.  On  this  they  went  a 
little  further  off;  but  again  the  exercises  were  dis- 
turbed by  another  terrible  invader  which  fell  be- 
side them,  shaking  the  very  ground  beneath  them. 
"Never  mind,"  said  the  soldier,  "it  is  only  the  devil 
trying  to  spoil  our  enjoyment:  let  us  go  on."  They 
had  just  resumed  when  whiz,  whiz,  with  a  loud  fall 
a  thnty-two  pound  shot  lay  beside  them.    The  mis- 


ii8  Nari'ozv  Escapes. 

sionary  was  alarmed,  but  the  soldier  calmed  his  fear 

by  quietly  saying, 

' '  Not  a  shaft  can  liit 

Till  the  God  of  love  sees  fit." 

This  brave  man  Matheson  used  to  tell,  once  stood 
alone  by  his  gun  in  the  midst  of  an  assailing  Russian 
host,  and  in  a  hand-to-hand  encounter  maintained 
his  ground  till  the  enemy  was  driven  back,  one  of 
the  Russians  with  whom  he  grappled  falling  dead  at 
his  feet. 

The  missionary,  peaceful  though  his  part  of  the 
business  Avas,  occasionally  experienced  danger,  and 
had  his  narrow  escapes.  One  day,  when  conversing 
with  a  godly  officer  in  a  retired  spot,  the  latter  said, 
"We  have  been  long  enough  here,  let  us  move 
aAvay."  No  sooner  had  they  removed  than  a  13- 
inch  shell  dropped  and  burst  on  the  very  spot  where 
they  had  been  standing.  "  God  had  cared  for  us," 
he  says,  "  and  we  were  safe." 

"At  Sebastopol  during  the  unsuccessful  attack  on 
the  Mamelon.  It  was  a  fearful  night.  Thousands 
were  hurried  into  eternity,  and  yet  our  soldiers 
marched  cheering  to  the  trenches,  and  seemed  total- 
ly unconcerned.  The  mail  had  arrived  just  ere  they 
marched,  and  you  could  see  them  reading  the  letters 
from  home.  Two  hours  after,  they  were  dead  or  dy- 
ing. There  seemed  to  reign  an  utter  recklessness  of 
life,  and  I  could  hear  the  wild  oaths  as  they  marched 
bandied  about  in  the  ranks.     1  had  an  opportunity 


Going  to  the  Slaughter,  119 

of  speaking  a  few  words  to  some  of  them,  and  dur- 
ing part  of  the  night  remained  with  the  outlying 
sentries,  in  one  of  whom  I  felt  special  interest.     At 

midnight  went  to  the  tent  of  Bombardier ,  and 

had  prayer  with  him.  In  the  morning  all  was  calm, 
save  now  and  then  shot  from  some  heavy  gun,  and 
the  wounded  were  carried  away  in  great  numbers. 
It  is  in  such  scenes  as  these  one  can  truly  appreciate 
the  reign  of  righteousness  yet  to  arise  on  this  be- 
nighted world,  and  long  and  pray  for  its  speedy 
advent." 

One  day,  17th  June,  we  find  him  speaking  about 
the  "one  thing  needful"  to  "a  large  draft  for  the 
Rifles,  mostly  boys,"  newly  arrived.  On  landing 
they  are  drawn  up  and  ranged,  before  "  marching 
to  the  front ; "  and  as  he  slips  out  and  in  among  them, 
giving  them  Testaments  and  speaking  in  his  own 
hearty,  affectionate  way  about  home,  and  battle,  and 
death,  and  eternity,  he  is  pleased  to  mark  unwonted 
signs  of  emotion,  and  remarks  that  "  it  seemed  as  if 
their  hearts  had  got  tender  when  brought  so  near 
the  seat  of  conflict."  These  boys  were  going  to  be 
butchered  on  the  morrow  at  the  Redan.  "Next  day," 
he  adds,  "  I  was  at  Sebastopol,  and  some  of  these 
very  men  were  carried  past  wounded,  whilst  others 
had  been  killed  in  the  fight." 

"  Attended  and  took  part  in  the  meeting,  specially 
with  reference  to  the  expected  assault  on  the  mor- 
row. The  worthy  chaplain's  address  was  most  sol- 
emn, aflTecting,  and  impressive.     It  was  indeed  a 


120  Attack  on  the  Redan. 

night  of  deepest  feeling,  and  much  of  tlie  Lord's 
presence  was  enjoyed." 

In  reference  to  the  disastrous  attack  on  the  Eedan, 
he  writes  in  his  jonrnal:  "June  18th.  Early  in  the 
morning  went  to  Sebastopol.  I  trust  higher  and 
holier  motives  than  those  of  mere  curiosity  led  me. 
Was  eye-witness  to  all  the  proceedings  of  the  fatal 
morning.  It  produced  feelings  that  cannot  be  ex- 
pressed ;  to  hear  and  see  the  deadly  conflict,  and  be 
witness  to  the  dead  and  dying  carried  past,  endur- 
ing their  sufferings  with  calm  fortitude  and  unmur- 
muring silence.  Spoke  words  of  kindness  to  a  few ; 
and  sought,  as  able,  to  tell  others  the  lesson  to  be 
learned,  viz.,  to  seek  the  Lord,  who  only  could  grant 
victory,  and  put  no  confidence  in  an  arm  of  flesh. 
When  the  fury  of  the  storm  had  passed,  and  some- 
thing of  a  depressing  calm  was  felt,  looked  in  at 

• Hospital,  but  could  not  stand  the  sight.     Some 

had  limbs  amputated;  others  hands  off;  and  many 
were  suff'ering  from  unextracted  bullets.  There  are 
events  in  every  man's  history  he  can  hardly  forget, 
and  through  grace,  I  should  like  to  retain  the  many 
lessons  taught  me  on  the  18th  of  June,  before  Se- 
bastopol." 

He  was  well  received  by  the  sailors  in  the  harbor 
of  Balaklava.  When  not  admitted  on  board  he  left 
a  parcel  of  carefully  selected  tracts  to  be  distributed 
among  the  men.  One  day  a  soldier  refusing  a  tract, 
a  sailor  with  the  wonted  frankness  and  good  humor 
of  Jack  stepped  up  and  said,  "If  he  won't,  I  will," 


Work  Among  the  Navvies.  12 1 

adding  for  the  encouragement  of  the  missionary, 

"Thank  ye,  sir ;  I  hke  a  good  yarn."    Captain  T , 

master  of  a  transport,  used  to  hoist  the  Bethel  flag 
on  his  ship,  and  Matheson  held  service  on  board. 

He  was  also  called  to  minister  to  the  navvies  of 
the  Army  Works  Corps,  among  whom  cholera  had 
broken  out.  As  early  as  five  in  the  morning  he  was 
astir  with  his  Bible  and  his  medicine.  His  counsel 
and  aid  were  in  great  demand,  for  the  navvies  had 
taken  it  into  their  heads  that  no  medicines  w^ere  so 
effective  as  his.  Something,  no  doubt,  was  due  to 
"  the  effectual  fervent  prayer "  which  "  availeth 
much."  This  opportunity  of  usefulness  was  seized 
with  his  usual  promptitude  and  good  sense ;  but  the 
work  sometimes  proved  more  than  even  his  strong 
frame  could  bear. 

Mr.  Gymgell,  chaplain  of  the  Army  Works  Corps, 
being  taken  ill  of  cholera,  our  missionary  watched 
him  till  he  died.  Through  the  long  weary  hours  of 
his  last  night  on  earth,  Matheson  sat  by  his  bedside 
ministering  to  him,  till  at  length,  as  it  drew  towards 
the  dawn,  the  faithful  chaplain,  breathing  out  faith 
and  hope,  peacefully  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  On  the 
Scripture-reader  devolved  the  last  offices  of  friend- 
ship, and  keen  were  his  feelings  in  transmitting  the 
sad  tidings  to  the  widow  and  children  far  away. 
Just  as  the  sun  was  setting  they  bui'ied  him  in  a 
quiet  spot  near  the  grave  of  Admiral  Boxer,  and 
Matheson  addressed  all  those  present  with  more  than 
ordinary  impressiveness  and  power.     He  felt  as  if 


122  Illness — Trip  to   Trebizond. 

tlie  disease  had  fastened  on  himself,  and  he  spoke 
with  the  Hght  of  a  near  eternity  in  his  soul. 

Utterly  prostrate,  he  reeled  home  to  the  old  stable, 
and  crept  into  his  comfortless  bed,  where  he  lay  sick, 
helpless,  and  alone  for  three  days  and  three  nights. 
Growing  worse  hour  by  hour,  he  was  at  length  no 
longer  able  to  rise  for  his  only  comfort — a  drink  of 
water ;  and  despairing  of  hfe  he  turned  his  face  to 
the  wall  to  die.  This  the  hour  of  his  extremity  was 
God's  opportunity.  The  Lord  sent  an  angel  to  min- 
ister to  him  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Medley,  a  gentle- 
man in  the  Commissariat,  who  had  formerly  been  a 
London  city  missionary.  Happening  to  come  to  the 
door,  he  discovered  the  forlorn  condition  of  the  Scrip- 
ture-reader, ran  to  his  relief,  and  never  left  him  till 
he  began  to  recover.  "  It  was  the  sound  of  Mr.  Med- 
ley's voice  singing  psalms,"  said  our  missionary, 
*'that  first  brought  me  to  myself,  and  from  that  mo- 
m.ent  I  began  to  get  better." 

For  the  benefit  of  his  health  he  took  a  trip  to 
Trebizond,  of  which  he  speaks  in  a  letter  to  his  sis- 
ter. "  I  wrote  you  that  I  was  going  to  Trebizond. 
I  did  go,  and  was  absent  a  week.  I  cannot  tell  you 
how  much  better  I  was  for  the  trip.  It  was  in  the 
'  City  of  Aberdeen '  I  went,  and  the  passage  was  beau- 
tiful. It  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  describe  the 
beauty  of  Trebizond  and  the  adjacent  country.  I 
hardly  thought  such  gorgeous  scenery  was  to  be 
seen  on  earth.  Should  I  be  spared  to  return  I  may 
be  able  to  convey  some  idea  of  it  to  you.     I  was 


Jczv  and  Gentile.  123 

most  taken  up  about  its  spiritual  condition,  which 
is  sad  in  the  extreme.  Of  60,000  inhabitants  there 
is  only  one  Englishman,  the  British  Consul.  The 
Americans  have  a  missionary  there  doing  a  good 
work;  but  as  he  had  gone  to  Constantinople  I  chd 
not  see  him.  I  left  a  letter  for  him  and  some  books. 
Some  of  the  converts  I  saw  and  was  much  pleased 
with  them.  I  felt,  0  how  deeply !  the  want  of  know- 
ing their  language ;  for  as  I  walked  through  the  city 
given  up  to  idolatry,  I  wished  I  had  been  able  to 
preach  'Christ  and  Him  crucified.'  The  sight  of  so 
many  thousands  believing  a  lie  gives  one  an  inter- 
est in  missions  such  as  many  speeches  could  not 
give. 

The  Tui'ks  in  Trebizond  I  found  to  be  most  invet- 
erate against  Christianity ;  but  their  days  are  num- 
bered. .  .  .  Although  only  a  week  absent  I  had 
many  friends  wearying  for  me,  and  once  again  I 
was  glad  to  see  them  and  enter  on  my  work.  All 
friends  here,  however,  must  be  held  very  loosely,  for 
they  soon  remove  or  are  taken  away." 

The  market-place,  Kadi  Keni,  situated  about  a 
mile  from  Balaklava,  was  a  stirring  spot.  English, 
French,  Italians,  Tm-ks,  Jews,  Maltese,  and  others, 
assembled  here.  The  Jews  were  extremely  debased, 
but  the  Maltese,  if  possible,  were  more  wicked  still ; 
for  they  were  sometimes  caught  in  the  act  of  spoil- 
ing the  dead.  The  market  was  just  the  place  for 
our  Scripture-reader :  here  he  did  much  business  for 
his  Master.     No  Jew  was  more  bent  on  making  gain 


124  '^^^^  Sardinian  Army. 

than  lie  was  on  winning  souls ;  his  constant  cry  was, 
"  Who  will  buy  the  truth?  " 

At  Kadi  Keni  he  met  officers  and  soldiers  of 
the  Sardinian  army,  and  made  their  acquaintance. 
"From  the  day  that  the  compact,  brave,  accom- 
plished, and  well-behaved  Sardinian  army  set  foot 
on  Crimean  soil,"  he  writes,  "  my  heart  was  set  on 
doing  them  good,  and  I  prayed  that  God  would  en- 
able me  to  spread  the  Word  among  them.  Know- 
ing that  God  could  bless  one  text  as  well  as  a  thou- 
sand, I  committed  to  memory  from  the  Italian  New 
Testament  that  Gospel  in  miniature  in  John  iii.  16: 
*For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'  I  went 
out,  and  standing  amongst  them  repeated  the  pas- 
sage, and  then  passed  from  group  to  group  with  my 
little  Gospel  message.  Then  I  took  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  Avent  out  reading  it  as  best  I  could,  till  a 
deep  interest  to  possess  it  was  called  forth,  and  the 
time  had  come  for  its  distribution." 

Cholera,  too,  came  to  clear  the  way  for  the  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Many  soldiers  of  the  Sar- 
dinian army  were  taken  ill :  there  was  a  lively  de- 
mand for  the  medicines,  of  which  Mr.  Matheson  had 
a  large  store,  and  very  soon  his  services  were  held 
in  as  high  repute  by  the  Italians  as  by  the  English 
navvies.  He  saw  the  door  of  access  opening;  he 
felt  assured  the  Lord  was  answering  his  prayers; 
and  so  incessantly  and  lovingly  did  he  labor  among 


Distribution  of  New   Testaments.  125 

them,  that  he  came  to  be  named,  "The  Sardinians 
Friend."  His  kindness  won  a  way  into  their  hearts ; 
prejudices  gave  way ;  he  became  a  universal  favor- 
ite, and  many  of  the  Itahans  received  the  Word  of 
God  at  his  hands,  when  they  would  have  rejected  it 
at  the  hands  of  any  others. 

In  his  journal  of  June  1st  he  writes:  "Began  the 
distribution  of  Italian  New  Testaments  in  fear  and 
much  trembling.  Opening  after  opening  presented 
itself,  and  the  avidity  with  which  many  received 
them  was  remarkable,  Avhilst  others  sternly  refused 
them.  One  officer  asked  for  a  copy,  and  assisted 
me  to  supply  all  his  company,  remarking,  '  A  better 
book  they  could  not  possess.'"  Again,  June  2d, 
"  Took  a  large  bag  full  of  Italian  New  Testaments 
to  market-place.  Kadi  Keni.  ]\Iet  many  Sardinians, 
and  on  presenting  them  with  the  Word  was  offered 
by  nine  tenths  payment  for  them.  Some  sternly  re- 
fused.    The  joy  of  others  was  great." 

Day  after  day  the  interest  increased.  One  walked 
five  miles  in  tlie  darkness  of  night  to  knock  at  the 
old  stable  door  and  get  the  Word  of  God.  Another 
came  begging  the  whole  Bible,  because  he  had  found 
the  New  Testament  so  good.  "  I  have  a  great  treas- 
ure now,"  said  another,  as  he  put  the  book  in  his 
bosom,  and  went  away.  At  five  in  the  morning 
the  missionary  is  aroused  by  Sardinian  soldiers  seek- 
ing the  Word  of  God.  They  were  going  to  join  the 
advance,  and  feared  losing  their  only  opportunity  of 
procuring  a  copy.     A  Waldensian  corporal  lying  iU 


126  Biter  est  in  the  Word. 

at  tliis  time,  in  answer  to  the  kind  inquiries  of  tlie 
Scripture-reader,  said,  "  The  source  of  all  true  cour- 
age is,  whilst  the  body  is  on  earth,  the  soul  is  in 
heaven," — a  truly  Waldensian  and  martyr-like  view 
of  the  matter.  "  Spoke  to  the  Sardinian  guard," 
Matheson  writes  in  his  journal,  "  and  told  them  of 
the  only  Saviour  of  sinners,  and  gave  each  of  them  a 
New  Testament.  They  said  they  would  take  them 
home  to  Italy.  Visited  by  seven  Sardinian  officers, 
who  wished  to  have  Bibles.  As  an  army  of  reserve, 
they  said  they  had  much  time  for  reading,  and 
would  take  their  Bibles  home  as  a  memorial  of  Eng- 
lish affection  and  of  the  Crimea."  Two  Tuscans, 
burning  with  zeal  for  liberty  and  Italy,  enlightened 
and  able  to  speak  English  fluently,  visited  the  sta- 
ble, and  heard  the  good  old  story  of  freedom  through 
Jesus  Christ.  A  Tyrolese,  of  noble  countenance, 
who  had  fought  under  Garibaldi  at  Rome,  and  shared 
the  perils  of  his  flight,  received  a  copy  of  the  Word, 
and  became  attached  to  the  missionary.  Thus  the 
work  went  on  day  by  day,  despite  all  the  efforts  of 
the  priests,  who  did  their  utmost  to  stop  it. 

Duncan's  frank,  genial  disposition,  and  intense 
sympathy  with  the  Italians  in  their  aspirations  for 
national  liberty  and  unity,  were  largely  instru- 
mental in  opening  the  door  for  the  Word  of  God 
among  the  Sardinian  troops.  God  gave  him  favor 
with  the  officers.  Dr.  S ,  who  could  speak  Eng- 
lish, became  his  friend.  That  gentleman  had  been 
led  to  embrace  Protestantism  by  reading  the  Bible, 


"77^^  Sardinians'  FriendP  127 

and  comparing  the  religion  of  Rome  with  the  truth. 
He  introduced  Mr.  Matheson  to  other  officers,  who 
invited  him  to  dinner.  The  missionary  made  a 
speech,  Dr.  S.  being  interpreter.  After  depicting 
in  glowing  colors  what  he  firmly  believed  would  be 
the  future  of  a  free  and  united  Italy,  whose  flag 
should  one  day  be  unfui'led  on  the  Capitol  of  Rome, 
he  proceeded  to  speak  of  the  Gospel  as  the  greatest 
glory  of  a  nation,  and  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only  true 
liberator  of  men.  His  sincerity  and  enthusiasm 
carried  all  their  hearts  as  by  storm,  and  thenceforth 
"The  Sardinians'  Friend"  enjoyed  all  but  unbounded 
liberty  and  respect  in  carrying  on  the  work  of  the 
Lord  in  the  Italian  army. 

Thus  his  field  of  labor  was  constantly  widening, 
and  knowing  that  the  day  of  opportunity  would 
soon  close,  he  pressed  into  every  breach  with  in- 
domitable courage  and  unquenchable  zeal,  till  at 
length  in  the  capture  of  Sebastopol  he  saw  a  certain 
indication  of  the  end  of  his  mission.  His  account  of 
the  final  bombardment  and  assault  deserves  a  page. 

"Balaklava,  10th  September,  1855. 
"The  din  of  battle  has  been  hushed  for  a  time, 
and  I  have  found  a  little  leisure  to  write.  I  hardly 
know  where  to  begin,  and  I  do  not  for  a  moment 
conceive  I  shall  be  able  to  give  you  any  right  idea 
of  the  transactions  of  the  last  few  days.  My  last 
told  you  of  the  mighty  preparations  going  silently 
and  mechanically  on  for  the  final  assault.     For  days 


128  A  Ship  on  Fire. 

and  days  nothing  was  seen  but  the  transit  of  am- 
munition, and  the  transport  of  gabions,  etc.,  for  the 
front.  The  fire  for  some  time  back  every  night 
had  been  truly  terrific.  It  seemed  the  Kussians 
well  knew  how  oui'  works  were  coiling  themselves 
around  their  devoted  city,  and  if  they  could  not 
prevent  this,  they  seemed  determined  to  annoy  us. 
What  was  often  thought  to  be  the  reopening  of 
the  bombardment  was  only  meant  to  allow  the 
French  at  the  Malakoff  and  us  at  the  Redan  to 
finish  the  works  under  cover  of  it.  On  the  morning 
of  the  6th  it  seemed  as  if  all  batteries  had  opened. 
Gun  after  gun  sent  forth  its  deadly  charges,  and 
during  the  whole  day  nothing  else  was  heard  but 
the  whiz  of  shells  as  they  fiew  through  the  air. 
The  accuracy  of  our  aim  was  remarkable.  In  one 
minute  you  could  count  nine  shells  bursting  upon 
the  parapet  of  the  Redan,  and  the  Malakofi*  seemed 
entirely  shrouded  in  a  sable  covering  of  smoke  and 
dust.  Thus  it  continued  during  the  day,  and  as 
evening  had  settled  on  us,  one  of  the  Russian  ships 
in  the  harbor  was  seen  to  be  on  fire.  Slowly  the 
flames  flew  up  the  rigging,  and  soon  the  burning 
fragments  were  scattered  around.  It  was  a  bril- 
liant sight.  The  dark  night — the  horizon  lighted 
up  for  miles — the  city  seen  as  if  by  day — the  sound 
of  the  rifles,  as  they  went  off,  pop,  pop,  in  the  ad- 
vanced works — the  heavy  cannonade' — and  the  star- 
like  fuses  of  the  shells,  as  they  rolled  through  the 
air,  made  it  all  awfully  imposing.     For  hours  the 


Incessant  C annonadmg.  129 

ship  burned,  and  when  morning  broke  you  could 
see  the  hulk  burned  to  the  water's  edge,  and  the 
other  vessels  lying  lazily  in  the  spot  where  they 
have  so  long  been. 

"If  the  fire  of  the  6th  was  heavy,  it  was  as  noth- 
ing to  the  fire  which  opened  on  the  7th.  Every 
spot  seemed  to  possess  a  gun,  and  from  every  side 
the  smoke,  fire,  and  noise  were  terrific.  It  seemed 
as  if  all  the  guns  and  mortars  in  the  French  left 
went  oJBF  at  one  moment.  Volley  after  volley  shook 
the  air,  and  the  Avhole  seemed  as  made  of  living  fire. 
For  a  short  time  it  seemed  as  if  they  had  spent  their 
fury,  and  as  if  the  work  were  done.  The  guns  were 
only  cooling.  In  a  little  while  they  burst  forth  with 
greater  fury  than  before.  Thus  during  the  whole 
day  it  continued.  There  seemed  no  slackening,  no 
flagging,  no  wearying.  Now  and  then  the  Kussians 
replied,  but  it  was  feeble  and  faint — not  one  shot 
for  the  thousand  given.  Thousands  of  spectators, 
chiefly,  yea,  almost  all,  soldiers,  crowded  the  heights, 
where  a  passing  glimpse  could  be  had  as  the  smoke 
cleared  away.  It  was  touching  to  see  them  in  little 
groups  discussing  tlie  probability  of  an  attack,  and 
their  remarks  were  often  of  a  mellowing  cast.  Gray- 
haired  soldiers  felt  certain  of  it,  though  all  was  kept 
profoundly  silent,  and  it  sent  a  strange  thrill  through 
the  heart  to  see  some  of  the  young,  only  joined  a 
few  days  before,  gambolling  to  the  sound.  During 
the  niglit  there  was  no  cessation,  and  the  rockets 
flew  at  intervals,  kindling  the  city  in  various  places. 


130  Weeping  Wives, 

Sleep  was  far  from  our  eyes.  The  night  seemed  long 
and  dreary,  and  the  sighing  of  the  wind  on  the  fierce 
blast  seemed  to  sound  in  the  ears  like  sighs  deep  and 
loud  from  a  sepulchre.  At  length  morning  broke, 
cold  and  cheerless.  The  sun  now  and  then  seemed 
ready  to  shoot  forth,  but  kept  back,  as  if  afraid  of 
shining  on  the  work  of  the  bloody  day.  The  wind 
was  strong,  and  carried  the  dust  in  whirling  eddies 
through  the  camp.  It  blew  well-nigh  a  hurricane, 
and  seemed  ready  to  carry  all  before  it.  We  ap- 
proached Cathcart's  Hill  and  found  the  whole  line 
guarded  by  our  dragoons.  One  could  scarcely  stand 
for  the  cold,  and  yet  the  interest  of  the  moment  ab- 
sorbed every  thought.  The  cannonade  seemed  still 
fierce,  and  now  and  then  through  the  strange  min- 
gling of  smoke,  fire,  and  dust,  you  could  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  two  spots  of  interest — the  Malakoff 
and  the  Eedan — greatly  battered,  and  only  now  and 
then  firing  a  sohtaiy  shot,  as  tokens  of  being  yet 
unsubdued. 

"By  seven  a.m.  the  Light  Division  had  marched. 
By  eleven  the  other  divisions  had  assembled,  and 
marched  to  their  respective  posts.  They  wound 
down  the  various  ravines  in  good  order,  and  seem- 
ingly knowing  the  desperate  nature  of  the  work 
they  were  to  do.  I  saw  several  soldiers'  wives  weep- 
ing after  them  as  they  went.  Each  man  carried  for- 
ty-eight hours'  provisions.  Their  advance  could  not 
be  seen,  for  the  wind  canied  the  dust  and  smoke  in 
darkening  columns,  shrouding  all  well-nigh  in  mid- 


The  Malakoff  Taken.  131 

niglit  darkness.  It  was  blowing  into  our  works,  and 
straight  away  from  the  Eussians.  A  large  building 
burned  in  Sebastopol,  and  yet  it  was  scarcely  no- 
ticed, so  eagerly  did  all  look  for  twelve  o'clock.  It 
came.  We  heard  the  crack  of  musketry  at  the 
Malakoff,  and  the  cannonade  still  went  on.  In  a 
few  minutes  the  report,  '  The  Malakoff  is  taken,' 
reached  the  camp.  The  3d  Division  in  reserve  gave 
three  hearty  cheers,  which  could  be  distinctly  heard 
through  the  camp  above  the  din  of  all.  The  oppo- 
sition at  the  Malakoff  was  faint.  In  ten  minutes 
the  eagles  of  France  floated  on  it.  It  seemed  un- 
expected. The  French  works  were  so  near  it — one 
bound,  and  it  had  fallen.  All  eyes  turned  to  the  Re- 
dan. Here,  in  a  moment,  the  battle  raged.  Such  hot 
musketry  has  rarely  been  seen.  Our  men  mounted 
its  parapets,  and  were  hurled  into  the  ditch  below. 
Man  after  man  ascended,  and  one  officer,  mounting 
the  parapet,  waved  his  sword  and  cheered  them  for- 
ward. He  Avas  soon  laid  in  the  dust.  Mass  after 
mass  pressed  forward,  and,  over  the  dead  bodies  of 
their  comrades,  got  within.  They  had  gained  it, 
but  the  dense  mass  of  Russian  infantry  poured  in 
countless  thousands  upon  them,  and  one  battery 
within,  miseen,  played  hard.  The  Russian  force,  in 
leaving  the  Malakoff,  poured  into  the  Redan,  de- 
termined to  make  it  the  final  settling-ground.  The 
few  of  our  soldiers  that  got  a  footing  made  a  noble 
stand,  but  they  were  as  a  drop  in  the  sea,  or  a  leaf 
in  the  forest,  compared  with  the  dense  masses  that 


132  Final  Attack  on  the  Redan. 

came  against  them.  They  had  to  retire,  and  yet 
time  after  time  they  rushed  to  the  assault,  and  kept 
the  enemy  from  gaining  one  inch  of  ground.  Be- 
tween the  Malakoff  and  Kedan  the  contest  fiercely 
raged.  Victory  seemed  to  hang  tremblingly  in  the 
balance,  and  moments  passed  as  hours — so  deep 
was  the  suspense.  At  three  o'clock  the  wounded 
began  to  be  carried  up.  It  was  a  sad  and  melan- 
choly procession.  The  Woronzoff  road  was  one  con- 
tinuous stream — officers  and  men  all  alike.  Some 
walked  themselves,  limping,  whilst  the  blood  oozed 
from  their  wounds,  and  now  and  then,  as  the  wind 
threw  the  cloak  or  covering  a  little  aside,  you  saw 
the  pale  cold  face  of  some  one  who  had  gone  from 
the  battle  to  the  judgment-seat.  As  I  stood  mark- 
ing the  sickening  sights,  three  soldiers'  wives  rushed 
down  the  ravine,  asking  after  their  husbands,  and 
presenting  a  dreadful  spectacle  of  misery  and  grief. 
A  ball  from  some  of  the  Kussian  batteries  fell  close 
beside  them,  and  they  had  to  run  with  all  speed  to 
the  rear.  The  wind  still  blew,  and  the  cold  contin- 
ued intense.  Now  and  then  it  lulled  for  a  moment, 
and  the  sun  burst  brightly  forth.  All  was  silent 
along  the  French  right,  and  only  our  batteries  and 
tlie  French  left  kept  up  the  fire.  The  mark  was 
still  the  Eedan.  It  was  evident  the  Kussians  were 
losing  heart. 

"Night  closed  on  the  scene,  and  the  wind  died 
away.  The  reserves  Avere  marched  ofi"  for  the  work 
of  the  coming  day.     The  town  was  on  fire  in  sev- 


Retreat  of  tJie  Russians.  133 

eral  places,  and  the  shipping  seemed  without  a  gun. 
Explosion  after  explosion  took  place.  At  two  o'clock 
— one  louder  than  the  rest.  Part  of  the  Redan  had 
been  sprung.  The  Highlanders,  who  behaved  nobly, 
held  in  reserve  for  the  next  assault,  entered,  and 
found  it  evacuated.  The  Russians  had  fled,  and, 
whatever  else  may  be  said,  made  a  masterly  retreat, 
displaying  the  most  consummate  generalship.  As 
they  went,  they  fired  all  behind  them,  and  our  men 
were  not  allowed  to  follow,  which  was  well,  for  yes- 
terday explosions  were  taking  place  the  whole  day. 
In  the  night  they  had  sunk  their  shipping,  so  long 
the  terror  of  the  Allies,  and  the  cause  of  so  many 
deaths.  The  eye  had  got  so  long  accustomed  to  the 
sight  of  these  mighty  vessels,  and  now  it  is  cheer- 
less to  see  the  waves  gently  cresting  over  the  spot 
where  they  were,  and  to  glance  at  the  large  bay 
without  a  speck,  save  a  few  harmless  steamers  cow- 
ering under  the  guns  of  the  opposite  shore. 

"Yesterday,  we  had  our  first  quiet  Sabbath  in  the 
Crimea.  How  pleasant,  how  calm,  how  refreshing 
it  dawned  upon  us !  Before,  all  used  to  be  bustle, 
and  the  cannonade  kept  no  Sabbath,  and  had  re- 
spect to  no  commands.  Not  a  gun  was  now  heard. 
The  stillness  of  death  seemed  to  reign,  and  the  deep- 
est interest  to  be  felt  in  knowing  who  had  or  had 
not  survived.  Many  a  sad  blank  was  found,  and  I 
had  to  weep  specially  over  one  friend  who  had  only 
arrived  from  England  two  days  before,  and  who  fell 
at  the  first  attack.     He  was  an  officer  of  the  Rifles, 


134  T^Ji-^  Fallen. 

and  if  honored  with  a  tombstone,  the  epitaph  truly 
may  be,  'He  walked  with  God.'  Only  a  few  en- 
tered the  town  yesterday,  and  om-  troops  moved 
cautiously,  there  being  so  many  mines  springing. 
It  is  all  mined.  Not  a  building  remains  uninjured. 
Shot  and  fragments  of  shell  pave  every  spot.  Build- 
ings have  been  scattered  in  ruins,  and  what  has  been 
left  the  flames  have  devoured.  It  has  a  desolate, 
di-eary  aspect,  and  the  wind  howls  hideously  through 
its  deserted  streets.  The  dead  lie  all  around,  and 
heap  upon  heap  meets  the  eye  at  the  various  points 
of  sharpest  contest.  Yesterday  and  to-day,  the  last 
offices  are  performing  for  the  dead,  laying  them  in 
graves  on  the  spot  where  many  of  them  fell.  The 
stern  tide  of  war  has  mercilessly  swept  them  away, 
and  left  many  to  deplore  their  loss.  Friend  and  foe 
lie  together,  and  Sebastopol  is  in  the  possession  of 
our  army. 

"  It  has  been  got  at  a  dear  rate,  and  the  price  of 
it  has  been  much  blood.  How  many  thousands, 
yea,  tens  of  thousands,  have  found  their  graves 
before  it,  there  to  await  till  the  trump  of  God  shall 
summon  the  sleepers  to  arise !  When  I  think  of  the 
mingled  joy  and  weeping  the  sound  of  this  victory 
shall  produce  at  home,  my  soul  is  filled  with  deep- 
est feeling.  I  feel  greatly  it  will  be  laid  to  the  bra- 
very of  our  army,  and  to  the  skill  of  our  command- 
ers; but  those  whose  hearts  are  filled  with  divine 
light,  and  who  know  any  thing  of  the  tremen- 
dous difficulties  overcome,  and  the  magnitude  of 


Letter  to  Mr.  Peter  Drummond.  135 

the  struggle,  will  give  all  the  glory  to  the  Lord,  to 
whom  it  belongs." 

The  following  letter  to  Mr.  P.  Dmmmond,  Stir- 
ling, will  furnish  some  idea  of  his  work,  and  the 
free  course  of  the  word  of  God  in  the  Crimea : 

"Balaklava,  Sept.  20th,  1855. 

"My  Dear  Mr.  Drummond:  Now  that  the  town  of 
Sebastopol  has  fallen,  and  the  din  of  battle  for  a 
time  has  ceased,  I  have  found  a  little  leisure  to  write 
to  you.  And  first  I  desire  to  thank  you  very  sin- 
cerely, in  my  own  name  and  that  of  others,  for  the 
many  kind  grants  of  tracts  you  have  sent  from  time 
to  time,  since  December  last,  and  to  assure  you  all 
have  been  widely  scattered,  and  in  many  cases  grate- 
fully received.  I  also  enclose  you  a  thank-offering 
from  a  few  friends  of  £7  10s.,  to  help  you  forward 
in  your  work.  The  silver  and  the  gold  are  the 
Lord's,  and  as  such  we  cast  it  into  His  treasury. 

"I  hardly  knew  from  what  point  to  start  to  let 
you  know  of  my  work  since  entering  this  field  of 
death  and  bloodshed.  It  has  been  an  eventful,  thrill- 
ing, soul-trying  time ;  and  yet  in  the  midst  of  all, 
much  of  the  seed  of  the  kingdom  has  been  scat- 
tered— seeing  since  the  fourth  of  December  last  I 
have  given  away — tracts,  52,000 ;  Bibles,  622 ;  Tes- 
taments, 1,477;  French  Testaments,  770;  Bibles,  32; 
Italian  Testaments,  4,300;  Bibles,  200;  Welsh,  Rus- 
sian, and  German  Testaments,  173;  books  for  offi- 
cers, 450. 


136  Gambling  and  Drunkenness. 

"  The  work  has  now  and  then  been  pleasant,  yet 
seldom  has  a  joyous  heart  been  known,  seeing  so 
much  abounding  iniquity  and  such  an  utter  reck- 
lessness to  the  things  of  eternity.  You  cannot  think 
what  a  vast  wilderness  of  ungodliness  our  army  is. 
You  cannot  move  a  step  without  hearing  that  name, 
dearer  to  you  than  all  others,  continually  blas- 
phemed. Gambling  has  been  carried  on  in  the  hos- 
pital, the  camp,  the  trenches,  to  an  amazing  degree ; 
and  the  curse  of  our  country,  drunkenness,  is  wide- 
spread indeed.  The  sufferings  of  last  winter  were 
not  overdi-awn,  nor  was  the  lesson  to  be  taught 
ever  learned.  Judgment  hung  heavy  on  us,  and  it 
passed  away  unheeded.  The  Lord  had  a  few  holy 
witnesses  in  our  army,  but  most  of  these  were  taken 
away  by  death,  the  bullet,  or  removed  to  England. 
No  widespread  blessing  has  ever  descended,  and 
tens  of  thousands  have  passed  to  the  judgment-seat. 
The  sins  of  our  nation  were  punished  in  our  army : 
and  a  slumbering  church  started  for  a  moment  to 
sink  into  a  deeper  sleep  than  before.  Often  when 
ready  to  faint  have  I  been  sustained  by  the  blessed 
truth,  '  All  that  the  Father  hath  given  shall  come ; ' 
and  some  measure  of  faith  in  the  omnipotent  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  has  revived  the  drooping  heart, 
and  enabled  me  more  urgently  to  present  Christ  and 
Him  crucified  to  dying  men.  Few  have  cared  for 
the  soldier's  soul ;  an  exception  here  and  there  with 
joy  may  be  made — but  Popery  and  Puseyism  have 
had  it  much  their  own  way.     The  means  to  meet 


War  has  no  Sabbath.  137 

the  wants  have  been  totally  inadequate,  and  every 
barrier  has  been  thrust  in  the  way  of  those  that 
would.  Evangelism  has  met  with  little  favor,  and 
Kome  has  plied  her  arts  with  untiring  assiduity. 
What  has  tended  much  to  demoralize  our  army  has 
been  the  almost  total  extinction  of  the  Sabbath. 
The  Crimea  has,  I  may  say,  known  no  Sabbaths. 
True  it  is,  for  a  few  minutes  the  form  of  parade-ser- 
vice has  been  gone  through,  and  the  men  instantly 
hurried  to  fatigue.  Let  those  who  would  like  to  see 
what  Britain  would  be  without  Sabbaths  visit  the 
Crimea,  and  they  will  see  the  soul-destroying  effects 
of  it.  The  poor  soldiers  long  for  it  to  recruit  their 
over-worked  systems,  but  the  demands  of  man  can- 
not afford  it,  and  the  ceaseless  toil  must  go  on.  I 
wish  to  draw  a  vail  over  much  that  I  have  seen  in 
the  Crimea  these  ten  months.  The  scenes  witnessed, 
and  the  dark  pictures  presented,  often  make  the 
blood  run  cold,  and  draw  tears  from  the  eyes.  Sure 
am  I  if  it  were  really  known  at  home  by  those  who 
know  the  value  of  thcK  own  souls,  they  could  not 
but  cry,  weep,  pray,  beseeching  the  Lord  to  open 
the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour  down  a  great  and 
an  abundant  blessing.  One  cannot  but  admire  the 
calm  endurance  of  our  army,  and  stand  amazed  at 
their  contepapt  of  danger,  and  the  unflinching  bra- 
very ever  manifested ;  and  oh,  how  well  it  were  if 
a  real  deep  and  abiding  awakening  took  place !  then 
it  would  be  bravery  drawn  from  a  right  som*ce,  and 
endurance  of  suffermg  the  result  of  right  principle. 


138  Work  among  the  Sardinians. 

Much  prayer  ought  to  be  made  for  our  neglected 
army,  for  it  is  high  time  to  know  the  real  spiritual 
state  of  it,  and  to  awake  out  of  sleep  regarding  it. 
"  You  are  aware,  in  the  end  of  May,  the  Sardin- 
ian army  landed  here.  Hearing  of  its  coming  I  had 
sent  for  thousands  of  Italian  Testaments,  not  know- 
ing but  the  Lord  would  open  a  way  for  their  distri- 
bution. I  began  the  work  with  much  prayer,  yet 
in  great  fear  and  trembling.  At  first  it  went  on 
slowly.  Many  prejudices  had  to  be  removed,  and 
much  wisdom  to  be  evinced.  Cholera  broke  out 
among  them,  and  many  hundreds  died.  It  soft- 
ened them  much;  soon  group  after  group  called 
on  me  for  the  Word,  sometimes  thirty  in  one  day. 
Since  the  1st  of  June  it  has  continued;  one  brought 
his  companion,  and  another  his  brother,  till  1,500 
have  so  visited  me.  I  cannot  give  you  any  idea  of 
their  eagerness  to  possess  the  Word.  I  have  known 
many  come  miles  for  it ;  and  never  have  I  seen  such 
joy  as  they  manifested  while  gazing  on  the  precious 
gift.  Had  I  time  it  would  be  pleasing  to  me  to 
send  you  more  details,  for  it  has  been  a  glori- 
ous, cheering  work.  Time  after  time  I  have  gone 
through  their  camp,  and  seen  some  in  little  groups 
reading  it,  others  in  their  tent ;  and  in  the  hospital 
nothing  else  is  read.  Many  officers  have  visited  me, 
written  me,  or  sent  for  Bibles ;  and  in  some  regiments 
every  officer,  from  the  colonel  downwards,  has  got  a 
copy,  while  most  of  the  medical  staff  have  also  been 
supplied.     A  spirit  of  earnest  inquiry  is  at  work 


Italy  Opening  to  the  Word.  139 

with,  some,  and  an  apparently  anxious  desire  to 
know  the  truth  by  most.  Wondrous  are  the  ways 
of  God.  Italy,  loMg  shut,  is  opening;  Popery  is 
losing  its  power;  the  mask  is  being  torn;  light 
thrown  around;  and  who  can  tell  the  amount  of 
blessing  the  4,700  copies  of  God's  Word  given  to  the 
Sardinian  army  may  be  the  means  of  accomplish- 
ing ?  It  is  touching  to  hear  them  say  often,  '  My 
father,  my  mother,  or  my  sisters,  possess  not  this, 
and  if  I  return  they  shall  have  it.'  Those  that  have 
been  invalided  and  sent  home  carried  it  with  them ; 
and,  as  they  embarked,  have  held  it  up  to  me,  say- 
ing, 'This  is  my  memorial  of  the  'Crimea.'  The 
work  is  still  going  on,  and  I  expect,  if  the  door  is 
still  open,  to  circulate  1,000  more.  Opposition  was 
at  one  time  greatly  threatened.  A  IMaynooth  priest 
in  our  army  tried  to  stir  the  Sardinian  priests  against 
the  work,  but  ere  his  plans  were  fully  mature  he 
fell  sick,  and  had  to  leave.  One  thing  is  clear,  Sar- 
dinia is  lost  to  the  Pope,  and  every  fresh  bull  ful- 
minated is  making  the  breach  wider  and  wider. 
Oh  for  living  men  for  Italy  to  preach  the  everlast- 
ing Gospel,  and  for  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
from  on  high  to  call  the  dead  to  life  !  It  presents  a 
glorious  field.  It  is  ripe  for  the  harvest.  Who 
will  enter  in  and  raise  the  standard  of  the  cross,  so 
long  trampled  in  the  dust;  yea,  buried  under  forms, 
traditions,  and  soul-destroying  ignorance? 

"I  cannot  find  time  to  tell  you  of  the  progress  of 
the  truth  in  Turkey.    The  only  ray  of  hope  is  in  the 


140  The  Crescent  Waning. 

'American  Mission  amongst  the  Armenians,  wliich 
is  greatly  prospering.  The  Turk  is  what  he  was. 
There  is  no  more  opening  of  his  mind  to  receive  the 
truth.  His  enmity  to  Christianity  is  as  deep  as  ever, 
and  the  effect  produced  by  the  presence  of  the  Alhes 
is  bad  indeed.  As  a  nation  tiiey  are  dying  out ;  evi- 
dently doom  is  written  on  Mahomedanism,  and  it  is 
well.  Gladly  would  I  see  the  Crescent  prostrate  in 
the  dust,  and  a  Christian  state  raised  on  the  ruins. 
The  time  is  fast  hastening  on ;  the  night  is  pass- 
ing ;  the  day  breaketh.  Soon  the  cry  shall  be  heard 
throughout  earth's  millions — 'Hallelujah!  for  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth.' 

"Wishing  you  all  success,  and  seeking  for  you 
much  of  the  hallowing,  humbling  grace  of  the  Eter- 
nal Spirit,  I  am,  in  much  haste,  your  affectionate 
friend, 

"  Duncan  Matheson." 

From  September  till  the  winter  set  in  he  continued 
his  labors — not,  however,  without  frequent  interrup- 
tions from  sickness  and  prostration.  "  Many  say, 
rest;  take  things  easier,"  he  writes  at  this  time.  "1 
cannot  rest,  for  it  is  a  mighty  graceless  army,  and 
needs  most  tremendous  exertions.  Oh  that  I  might 
be  the  means  of  saving  souls !  "  Much  did  he  feel 
the  loss  of  Christian  friends.  "  Captains  Craigie,  Vic- 
ars, and  Beaufort  are  gone.  Lieut.  Wemyss  died  on 
his  way  to  England,  and  has  his  grave  in  the  waters 
of  the  Bosphorus.     I  feel  it  much — keenly,  deeply. 


Illness.  141 

Oil  liow  cheap  is  life  here !  You  sorrow  for  one,  for 
many,  and  next  day  you  sorrow  for  more,  till  the 
mind  gets  quite  hardened.  ]\Iany  talk  of  hundreds 
dying  as  if  it  were  nothing.  Most  look  not  into  eter- 
nity, and  know  not  the  value  of  souls.  I  often  think 
it  is  well  I  counted  the  cost  ere  coming  here.  I  have 
not  been  disappointed.  It  is  useless  to  think  of  tri- 
als, if  the  Lord  prosper  you  in  your  Avork. 
You  and  others  fear  for  me.  I  alone  fear  not  for 
myself  Am  I  not  in  the  Lord's  w^ork?  Can  any 
thing  happen  without  his  permission?  If  I  live,  let 
it  be  to  his  glory.  If  I  die,  may  it  be  for  his  glory. 
I  am  not  my  own.  I  know  there  is  victory  through 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb ;  and  what  after  all  is  death  ? 
The  entrance  to  eternal  rest — the  door  to  God's  right 
hand." 

Again  and  again  he  is  smitten  down  by  tlie  com- 
bined effects  of  fatigue,  exposure,  and  want  of  mate- 
rial comforts.  In  a  letter  he  says  :  "  Since  I  last 
wrote  you  I  have  known  what  it  is  to  be  laid  low. 
Indeed,  when  I  wrote  you  I  felt  rather  unwell,  but 
thought  I  should  rally,  as  I  have  often  done.  I  was 
seized  with  violent  diarrhoea,  accompanied  with  fe- 
ver, which  continued  nearly  eight  days,  live  of  which 
I  was  totally  confined  to  bed.  A  few  days  after  I 
took  ill  my  kind  friends,  Drs.  Derriman  and  Brown, 
pitched  a  tent  for  me  at  their  hospital,  and  their  at- 
tention to  me  was  unremitting.  Through  the  mercy 
of  God,  I  am  restored  again,  and  in  my  own  house, 
and  at  my  work.    ]\Iany  of  the  poor  Sarduiians  called 


142  Privations. 

on  me  during  my  illness,  and  I  had  to  liand  them 
copies  of  the  Word  of  God  from  my  bed.  Indeed 
every  one  was  exceedingly  kind.  Most  of  those  who 
sought  to  labor  are  now  either  dead  or  left.  The 
doctors  say  I  ought  not  to  remain  another  winter 
here  on  any  account,  as  those  exertions  I  have 
through  grace  been  enabled  to  make  must  recoil  on 
the  system.     This  is  in  the  Lord's  hands." 

His  privations  were  often  well-nigh  past  endur- 
ance. Often  had  he  suffered  the  gnawings  of  hun- 
ger, till  at  length  he  lost  his  appetite  entirely. 
"How  gracious  the  Lord  is,"  he  says  in  a  letter  to 
his  sister;  "the  last  two  days  I  had  the  delicious 
pleasure  of  being  hungry."  Again,  "  I  am  getting 
sorely  out  of  clothes.  Last  week  I  got  a  present 
of  a  new  pair  of  boots  sent  from  England.  Next 
day  they  were  stolen.  I  had  my  last  shirt  on.  I 
could  not  find  another ;  but  a  staff  doctor  called,  and 
made  me  a  present  of  one  yesterday.  So  the  Lord 
provides." 

At  length  his  failing  health  compelled  him  to  leave 
the  Crimea,  and  return  to  Scotland,  where  he  arrived 
about  the  end  of  the  year. 

After  spending  six  weeks  at  home,  he  set  out  again 
for  the  East,  rejoicing,  and  counting  himself  more 
highly  honored  than  if  he  were  the  ambassador  of 
a  king.  His  connection  with  the  Soldiers'  Friend 
Society  had  ceased  on  his  return  home ;  but,  liber- 
ally aided  by  the  Countess  of  Effingham  and  others, 
he  went  forth  absolutely  his  own  master,  and  with 


Stores  for  Distribution.  143 

an  eye  single  and  full  of  light.  Feeling  assured  that 
he  was  called  by  the  great  Master  to  seize  an  oppor- 
tunity such  as  might  never  recur,  he  girt  up  his  loins, 
and  at  once  prayerful  as  well  as  self-reliant,  cautious 
as  well  as  enthusiastic,  he  took  his  way  to  the  scene 
of  his  former  labors  and  sorrows. 

His  stores  of  Christian  Hterature  for  gratuitous 
distribution  were  immense,  varied,  and  judiciously 
selected.  Besides  Bibles,  tracts,  and  other  books  in 
the  several  languages  of  the  East,  he  carried  with 
him  a  considerable  number  of  copies  of  the  Shorter 
Catechism  with  proofs,  in  Italian,  under  the  title  of 
"Compendium  of  Christian  Doctrine,"  and  also  Pa- 
leario's  "Benefits  of  Christ's  Death,"  in  the  same 
language.  His  own  countrymen  were  not  forgotten. 
At  Gibraltar,  Malta,  and  almost  everywhere  a  slow 
lumbering  voice  would  be  heard  asking,  "  Hae  ye 
ony  Bibles  wi'  Psaums?"  Knowing  and  sympathiz- 
ing with  the  likings  of  his  countrymen,  he  was  fully 
prepared  to  supply  honest  Sandy's  want. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  notice  that  his  services 
were  eagerly  sought  at  this  time  by  more  than  one 
Missionary  Society  or  Committee.  The  "Jews'  Con- 
version Committee  "  offered  to  "  employ  him  as  an 
assistant  missionary  of  the  Committee  at  Constanti- 
nople, at  a  salary  of  £150  a  year."  At  the  same 
time  the  Free  Church  Colonial  Committee  desired  to 
secure  his  services  for  the  East ;  but  fearing  lest  he 
should  be  trammelled  in  his  work,  he  declined  every 
offer,  in  order  that  he  might  be  free  to  carry  out  his 


144  ■^^'  Joh^i  Bonar. 

own  peculiar  mission  in  his  own  way.  Dr.  John 
Bonar,  Convener  of  the  Colonial  Committee,  again 
wrote  him  in  noble,  generous  words  of  encourage- 
ment. "  You  go,"  he  writes,  "  to  unfurl  the  Lord's 
banner  in  the  sight  of  assembled  nations.  You  go 
to  breathe  words  of  peace  from  the  Prince  of  peace 
amid  the  din  of  war.  You  go  to  sow  the  incorrupt- 
ible seed  of  the  Word,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for- 
ever, amid  the  very  things  which  beyond  all  others 
show  the  vanity  and  uncertainty  of  all  earthly  and 
human  things.  You  go  to  speak  to  men  of  their 
souls  and  of  eternity,  in  the  midst  of  the  very  things 
which  may  summon  them  to  that  eternity  while  you 
yet  speak.  You  go  to  give  the  word  of  life  to  those 
to  whom  it  is  a  sealed  fountain  at  home ;  and,  in  a 
word,  to  do  good  to  aU  as  you  have  opportunity. 
Going  on  such  an  errand,  and  called  to  fulfil  so  im- 
portant a  mission,  we  bid  you  God  speed." 

LETTERS    TO    HIS    SISTER. 

"  London,  March  6th. 

"  I  long  much  to  get  away.  I  have  got  every 
thing  for  my  mission  I  could  desire.  To-day  I  have 
been  at  Beckenham.  I  have  got  forty  copies  of  Cap- 
tain Vicars'  Life.  Mr.  Moody  Stuart  went  to  the 
Edinburgh  Bible  Society,  and  got  £25  for  me  for 
French  Bibles.  Mr.  Learmouth  has  paid  for  1,000 
Bibles  for  me." 

"March  14th. 

"  At  sea,  off  the  Spanish  coast.     We  are  nearing 


Meeting  Old  Friends.  145 

Gibraltar,  and  on  getting  ashore  I  expect  to  post 
this  letter  for  yon,  that  it  may  relieve  any  anxiety 
yon  may  feel.  .  .  .  To  be  united  to  Jesns  is  the 
one  great  thing.  What  is  all  else  beside  ?  A  dream 
— a  shadow — nothing.  To-day  I  was  led  to  think 
of  my  awakening  and  after-life.  What  a  miracle  of 
mercy  it  has  all  appeared.  To  be  used  at  all  by  the 
Lord  is  truly  wonderful.  Yea,  it  is  all  His  grace — 
His  own  peculiar  dealing.  I  long  for  nothing  more 
than  spiritual  life.  It  seems  to  me,  looking  at  the 
work  to  be  done  and  the  greatness  of  eternal  things, 
as  if  I  had  not  yet  really  begun  to  live.  What  an 
amount  of  time  have  I  lost.  How  little  it  has  been 
really  occupied  for  the  Lord.  How  little  accom- 
plished.    Life,  life,  the  endless  life  of  grace,  is  all  I 

need,  and  all  I  want It  is  difficult 

to  write  with  the  motion  of  the  vessel.  We  speed 
on  our  voyage.  Such  is  life.  Yes,  we  are  passing 
along.     How  soon  shall  it  be  all  done  here." 

After  touching  at  Malta,  where  his  soul  was  vexed 
at  the  sight  of  the  Popish  mummeries  of  Good  Friday, 
he  reached  Constantinople  on  the  31st  March.  Here 
he  began  the  work  of  Scripture  distribution  at  the 
Sardinian  Hospital  at  Yenikoi,  where  there  is  a  great 
rush  on  the  part  of  the  Italian  soldiers  to  obtain  copies 
of  the  Word  of  God.  Doctors,  officers,  and  men  are 
waiting  for  him,  and  their  joy  is  great  on  seeing  their 
old  friend  with  his  precious  stores.  Day  after  day 
he  passes,  and  the  work  seems  to  grow. 
10 


146  Return  to  the  Crdmea. 

He  again  proceeds  to  the  Crimea. 

"Crimea,  June  16th. 
"I  do  not  anticipate  staying  long  in  the  Crimea. 
All  will  depend  on  my  entrance  amongst  the  Kussian 
soldiers.  In  all  my  previous  journeys  the  Lord  has 
graciously  prospered  me,  and  I  hope  in  this  I  shall 
be  able  to  sing  the  same  song,  and  talk  of  the  same 
goodness.  Since  my  arrival  it  has  been  an  inces- 
sant whirl.  I  would  I  could  get  rest!  But  it  cannot 
be.  The  doors  are  too  open,  and  the  readiness  to 
receive  so  great,  that  it  must  be  "now  or  never." 
I  expect  a  thousand  French  Bibles  soon  from  Lon- 
don. I  have  already  given  above  five  thousand 
copies  of  the  Word  in  all  languages.  Oh  for  the 
breath  from  on  high !  My  heart  is  set  on  the  Lord. 
I  love  his  service.  I  seek  grace  to  glorify  Him. 
Soon  all  will  be  done.     It  is  passing  away." 

In  the  arduous  work  of  Scripture  distribution  in 
the  Sardinian  army  he  received  no  small  help  from 
an  Italian  priest,  who  had  been  favorably  impressed 
by  the  dying  testimony  of  his  nephew  Paolo,  a  young 
soldier  converted  by  reading  a  copy  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament given  him  by  Mr.  Matheson.  When  coun- 
selled by  his  uncle  to  confess,  Paolo  replied  that  he 
had  confessed  his  sins  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  having 
received  forgiveness,  he  needed  not  to  confess  to 
man.  His  beautiful  death  touched  the  heart  of  the 
priest,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  quiet,  kind- 
hearted  man. 


opposition  of  Priests.  147 

Early  in  1856  some  of  the  Sardinian  officers  had 
written  to  the  principal  newspaper  in  Turin,  and 
challenged  the  priests  to  come  to  the  Crimea,  if  they 
dared,  and  stop  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptm-es. 
On  this  an  accomplished  Jesuit  was  sent,  who  on  his 
arrival  threatened  to  have  the  fellow  hanged  who 
was,  contrary  to  all  law  and  order,  spreading  heresy 
and  Bibles  among  the  good  soldiers  of  Italy,  and  the 
children  of  the  Pope.  Matheson  providentially  dis- 
covered the  Jesuit  and  his  scheme,  and  informed 
certain  officers  (his  friends),  who  outwitted  the  priest 
and  he  was  obliged  to  sneak  away  as  he  came. 

One  day  he  found  his  spiritual  stores  exhausted. 
A  ship  with  a  fresh  stock  of  books  was  seen  for  days 
in  the  offing;  but  stormy  weather  prevented  all  ac- 
cess to  the  vessel.  Becoming  impatient  he  got  a 
boat,  manned  by  several  stout  Aberdonians,  and 
taking  the  tiller  himself,  he  put  off  to  the  ship.  In 
the  face  of  a  tremendous  sea  they  endeavored  to 
make  way  to  the  vessel ;  and  when  all  but  baffled, 
the  missionary,  in  his  bluff,  hearty  style,  cheered 
them  on  saying,  "Eow,  boys,  row;  I'll,  may  be,  tell 
this  yet  on  the  Castle-gate  of  Aberdeen."  They  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  vessel,  got  the  books,  and 
returned  to  the  harbor  in  safety. 

In  the  report  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Chris- 
tian Knowledge,  Mr.  Matheson,  in  reference  to  his 
work  among  the  Sardinian  soldiers,  says :  "My  house 
at  Terrikoi  was  literally  besieged,  and  day  after  day 
I  had  to  return  to  Constantinople  for  fresh  supplies. 


148  Soldiers  Seeking  Bibles. 

On  the  retTirn  of  tlie  steamer  many  were  awaiting 
me  on  the  qnay,  and  sometimes  all  my  books  were 
gone  before  I  could  reach  the  Locanda.  Many  fresh 
invalids,  scarcely  able  to  walk,  applied  to  me  there ; 
and  instead  of  any  opposition  being  thrown  in  my 
way  by  those  in  command,  I  Avas  greatly  aided  by 
them ;  indeed  they  were  the  first  to  ask  for  Bibles. 

In  six  days  I  had  given  away  500 

Bibles — 46  of  these  to  ofiicers.  At  Terrikoi  I  did 
not  offer  one  copy ;  all  were  asked  for ;  and  pleas- 
ing indeed  it  was  to  bestow  it  on  one  and  another 
and  another,  who  remarked,  '  I  was  robbed  of  mine 
at  Milan;'  or,  'I  have  long  desired  one  to  take 
home,  seeing  that  m  my  distant  village  it  cannot 
be  found.' 

"The  work  being  completed  there,  I  hastened  to 
the  Crimea ;  and  if  the  interest  at  Terrikoi  was  great, 
it  was  far  transcended  by  that  manifested  on  my 
arrival  here.  Soon  the  object  of  my  mission  ran  like 
wildfire  through  the  camp,  and  singly,  in  couples,  in 
groups,  yea,  in  masses,  I  was  visited.  In  one  day 
/  seven  hundred  thus  came  to  me,  and  were  supplied. 
Ofiicers  of  all  grades  called  for  Bibles ;  and  I  have 
in  my  possession  very  many  letters  sent  me  by  some 
of  them  in  higli  standing  for  the  Word.  It  was  per- 
fectly agonizing  to  have  to  send  away  hundreds 
without  it;  and  I  have  known  soldiers  Avalk  six 
miles,  four  or  five  times  in  succession,  for  Bibles. 
Now  and  then  small  supplies  arrived,  and  many,  in 
the  very  act  of  embarking,  came  running  breath- 


Expressions  of  Gratitiide.  149 

lessly  for  that  which  to  them  had  now  become  '  more 
precious  tlian  gold.'  The  new  edition  was  indeed 
the  more  highly  valued;  and  many  were  the  expres- 
sions of  gratitude  sent  to  friends  in  England  for  the 
noble  gift.  Had  I  had  ten  times  the  number  they 
could  have  been  distributed,  as  over  and  over  again, 
when  all  were  gone,  many,  I  hear,  offered  all  they 
had  for  a  copy.  And  surely  it  is  pleasing  to  think 
of  1,000  Testaments  and  674  Bibles  of  this  edition 
being  amongst  them,  and  now  in  Piedmont.  Of 
the  674  Bibles  distributed,  250  were  given  to  officers 
who  called  for  them. 

"  A  nobler  army  than  that  of  the  Sardinians  can- 
not be  found.  Many,  very  many  of  them,  are  men 
of  great  intellect ;  and  it  is  no  unusual  thing  to  meet 
with  men  in  the  ranks  who  are  classical  scliolars, 
and  who  would  adorn  any  society  in  any  country 
m  the  woi^d.  They  have  left  this  land  for  the  land 
to  which  they  so  fondly  cling — and  whose  emanci- 
pation from  spiritual  thraldom  they  long  to  see  fully 
consummated — loved  by  all,  and  with  an  affection 
deep-seated  and  sincere.  What  most  gladdens  the 
heart  is,  that  few  return  home  witliout  the  book  of 
God,  the  record  of  eternal  life,  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
In  faith  we  look  for  mighty  results.  Piedmont  is 
rising  among  the  nations.  She  has  taken  a  noble 
stand.  Let  but  the  Word  of  God  be  scattered  there 
in  rich  abundance,  in  copies  of  the  faithful  version 
of  Diodati,  the  only  translation,  save  in  a  few  in- 
stances, I  have  ever  been  asked  for ;  nor  let  it  ever 


150  Cossack  Affection. 

be  forgotten  that  they,  and  they  only,  are  free  whom 
the  truth  makes  free." 

At  length  his  work  was  finished  in  the  Crimea. 
One  result  was  that  eighteen  thousand  copies  of  the 
Word  of  God  were  carried  into  priest-ridden  Italy 
in  the  knapsacks  of  the  soldiers.  He  was  sent  to 
read  the  Scriptures  to  his  own  countrymen,  which 
he  did,  and  at  the  same  time  sent  a  host  of  Scripture- 
readers  into  the  dominions  of  the  Pope. 

After  the  proclamation  of  peace,  the  Eussian  sol- 
diers came  freely  into  the  camp  of  the  Allies.  Our 
missionary's  heart  was  stirred  anew :  a  fresh  field  pre- 
sented itself;  he  was  not  slow  to  embrace  the  oppor- 
tunity; and  he  met  with  no  small  encouragement 
among  the  Eussians.  Sometimes  he  was  awakened 
at  the  dawn  of  day  by  a  Cossack  on  his  shaggy 
steed,  come  to  beg  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament. 
"My  friends  the  Cossacks,"  he  says  in"  a  letter, 
"showed  me  much  kindness,  and  I  had  to  submit 
once  and  again  to  the  embrace  of  Eussian  soldiers, 
smelling  strongly  of  onions ! "  The  beautiful  mon- 
astery of  St.  George,  situated  on  a  high  perpendic- 
ular rock  on  the  sea-side  between  Balaklava  and 
Kamiesch,  he  found  occupied  by  seventeen  monks, 
with  their  superior.  Thither  he  repaired  with  a  bag 
of  Eussian  New  Testaments,  and,  with  the  assistance 

of  his  friend  Dr.  C ,  presented  each  of  the  monks 

with  a  copy,  which  they  received  most  gratefully, 
and  with  earnest  request  for  the  entire  Bible.  The 
missionary,  as  he  passed  from  cell  to  cell,  offered 


Departure  of  the  Allied  Armies.  151 

fervent  prayer  that  God  would  bless  each  and  all  of 
those  peace-loving  dwellers  in  St.  George  with  the 
saving  knowledge  of  His  glorious  name. 

It  was  a  touching  sight  to  behold,  as  oui*  mission- 
ary did,  the  former  dwellers  returning  to  seek  in 
vain  their  once  happy  homes.  So  changed  was 
every  thing  by  the  desolation  of  war,  that  often  did 
the  poor  people,  on  looking  around  upon  the  scene 
of  their  former  habitations,  lift  up  their  voices  and 
weep ;  and  my  reader  will  not  marvel  when  I  tell 
him  that  the  tender-heai-ted  man  of  God  wept  with 
them. 

The  allied  armies  took  their  way  back  to  the  set- 
ting sun.  Our  missionary  waited  till  almost  the 
last  man  had  embarked.  "Going  to  the  top  of  a 
hill,  I  looked  abroad  upon  the  desolate  scene.  Miles 
of  huts  were  left  standing  without  a  solitary  occu- 
pant. Not  a  human  voice  was  to  be  heard.  Here 
and  there  a  Russian  might  be  seen  prowling  through 
the  deserted  camp.  On  my  right  lay  Inkermann  and 
the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Tchernaya,  with  the  Rus- 
sian cavalry  grazing  on  its  field  of  battle.  A  little 
beyond,  in  sweet  repose,  was  spread  out  the  plain 
of  Balaklava,  scene  of  heroic  daring  unsurpassed  in 
the  world's  history.  Sebastopol  reposed  in  calm 
beauty,  rendered  more  touching  by  its  ruins.  Fur- 
ther off  the  Black  Sea  looked  in  the  rays  of  the  set- 
ting sun  like  a  mirror  of  glory.  Wherever  I  turned 
my  eye  the  hill-sides  were  covered  with  graves,  and 
every  ravine  was  like  a  charnel-house.     With  burst- 


152  At  'Constanti7iople. 

ing  heart  and  streaming  eyes  I  thought  of  the  many 
friends  I  had  lost,  and  the  myriads  of  broken  hearts 
and  bereaved  homes  far  away.  All  alone  I  went  to 
'  take  my  farew^ell  look  of  Vicars'  and  Hammond's 
graves.  Thought  upon  thought,  quicker  than  the 
lightning,  flashed  through  my  mind  as  I  said  to  my- 
self, What  an  army  shall  arise  from  these  graves  on 
that  great  day !  Each  spot  will  be  instinct  with  life. 
What  a  different  scene  from  that  once  witnessed 
here,  when  man  girt  on  his  armor  to  meet  man,  then 
fought  and  Conquered,  or  laid  them  down  to  die! 
These  men  will  rise  from  the  dust  of  death  to  face 
not  man  but  God.  At  the  blast  of  the  archangel's 
trump  the  sleeping  warriors  shall  awake.  But  what 
an  awaking  to  those  who  were  wrapped  in  a  Christ- 
less  shroud  and  laid  in  a  hopeless  grave !  And  how 
shall  the  dead  in  Christ  arise  with  joyous  songs  of 
triumph  as  they  shout,  '  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 
0  grave  where  is  thy  victory?'  They  shall  mount 
up  'to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air;  and  so  shall  they 
ever  be  with  the  Lord.'" 

Eeturning  to  Constantinople  in  June,  he  plunged 
into  the  work  of  Bible  distribution  among  the  French 
and  Turks. 

"Constantinople,  3d  July. 

"Since  my  last  I  have  been  exceedingly  busy. 

My  labors  have  been  entirely  amongst  the  French 

and  Turks.     I  gave  190  Bibles  in  one  day  to  the 

French,  besides  a  large  number  of  tracts  and  books. 


Work  among  the  Turks.  153 

I  wish  miicli  silence  kept  regarding  my  work  among 
the  Turks,  though  in  some  cases  it  has  oozed  out. 
Scarcely  a  day  passes  without  some  Turkish  officers 
calling  for  the  Bible.  With  Mr.  M'Kutcheon  I  have 
given  300  copies  already.  Since  my  arrival  here 
6,600  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  in  all  languages,  have 

been  distributed What  a  picture  our 

poor  countrymen  give  of  Christianity  here.  You 
hardly  see  any  one  di'unk  but  an  Englishman  or  a 
Scotchman;  and  English  oaths  are  the  first  thing 
many  learn  here.  The  cursed  drink,  how  it  ruins 
the  soul,  how  it  hinders  the  Lord's  work.  The 
Church  at  home  countenances  it,  and  the  ruin  of 
thousands  must  lie  at  the  door  of  professed  Chris- 
tians who  support  it  and  lend  it  their  influence." 

In  the  midst  of  his  incessant  and  absorbing  labors 
his  own  vineyard  was  not  neglected;  nor  was  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  his  friends  and  native  place  for- 
gotten, as  the  following  letter  will  show : — 

"  Constantinople,  5th  July,  1856. 
"My  Dear  Christian  Friend:  How  quickly  the 
time  rolls  past.  Its  tide  is  ceaseless.  Its  current  is 
often  unmarked.  Its  fllling  up  as  it  drifts  along 
presents  a  solemn  history.  Done  with  it  aU,  how 
soon!  Yes,  done  with  it  to  enter  eternity.  The 
prospect  is  often  solemn,  and  well-nigh  makes,  in 
view  of  it,  the  heart  cease  to  beat  and  the  soul  to  be 
still.  I  am  a  deathless  being ;  I  am  marching  to  the 
world  of  sphits ;  I  shall  soon  be  unclothed.     Of  that 


,  1 54  Recollections  of  Huntly. 

world  I  know  but  little.  The  certainty  of  its  being 
mine  to  spend  my  forever  with  Jesus  is  my  only 
concern.  Lord,  more  grace !  more  grace !  more 
grace !  that  the  thought  of  this  may  swallow  up 
all  others.  Make  me  to  feel  the  gilded  things  of 
earth  nothing,  and  lead  me  to  see  a  glory  in  the 
things  of  holiness  surpassing  in  brightness,  splen- 
dor, and  endurance  all  else  besides. 

"  Five  months  have  passed  since  I  took  farewell 
of  Huntly,  the  scene  of  many  a  sorrow,  the  field  of 
many  a  conflict,  the  spot  of  glimpses  and  of  sweet- 
est communion.  When,  oh  when,  shall  the  day  of 
visitation  appear  ?  When  shall  the  clouds  break  ? 
When  shall  the  pall  of  death  that  has  hung  so  long 
above  them  be  rolled  away  ?  Lord,  soon !  soon ! 
soon !  Li  memory  1  look  at  the  blanks  that  have 
been  made — sad  blanks  for  us  certainly.  One  saint 
after  another  has  been  called  away.  Our  little  com- 
pany has  been  lessened,  and  Death  seems  to  say  to 
the  rest  of  us  in  no  doubtful  voice,  '  Be  ready !  be 
ready  1  be  ready  ! ' 

"Since  leaving  I  have  been  preserved  in  deaths 
oft.  Twice  have  I  visited  the  Crimea,  and  endured 
misery  enough  to  crush  the  stoutest.  That  dark 
scene  I  have  bidden  likely  a  last  farewell.  I  can- 
not tell  you  my  feelings  as  I  gazed  from  the  ves- 
sel's deck  on  the  sun  setting  behind  its  hills,  and 
casting  its  retiring  rays  on  its  rugged  shore.  I  had 
escaped.  His  word  had  had  free  course.  I  was  safe. 
I  longed  for  some  one  to  help  me  to  praise,  for  I 


Hcart-scarcJiiiig.  155 

could  not.  Alas!  I  still  earned  a  diseased  soul,  a 
corrupt  heart;  and  hour  by  hour  well  may  I  say, 
'If  I  had  only  hope  in  this  life,  I  were  of  all  men 
the  most  miserable.'  I  need  no  uncommon  trials  to 
keep  me  lowly.  I  need  much  grace  to  keej)  me  at 
his  feet.  Daily  do  I  get  deeper  and  deeper  discov- 
eries of  my  own  heart,  and  the  past  seems  to  have 
only  been  a  mere  touching  of  the  edge — a  mere 
glance  at  the  surface.  I  would  often  seek  to  hide 
in  some  desolate  wilderness,  and  there  seek  to  cry 
for  the  only  thing  I  need — mercy !  mercy !  mercy ! 
I  hope  it  is  better  with  you.  How  well  to  be  at  his 
feet.  How  well  to  be  soured  of  earth.  How  well  to 
he  shut  lip  to  salvation  through  Jesus.  Weak  as  this 
hope  of  mine  often  is,  I  cannot  yield  it.  It  has  out- 
lived many  a  storm;  it  has  upheld  me  in  furious 
tempests ;  it  has  twinkled  in  solemn,  trying  hours. 
A  religion  of  reality  how  rare.  Far  clearer  than  be- 
fore I  see  the  current  religion  hollow  and  insecure. 
It  is  the  fruit  of  no  trial,  the  result  of  no  divine  fire, 
the  product  of  no  omnipotent  power.  The  spark 
shall  go  out  at  last.  Thy  searching,  0  God,  give 
me.  Thy  work  let  it  be  mine.  I  would  seek  to 
find  my  all  in  Thee.  To  find  our  all  in  God,  how 
high  the  thought !  how  exalting  the  prospect '  how 
humbling  the  immense  distance  from  its  posses- 
sion! One  day  it  may  come.  The  night  shall 
cease.  What  is  impossible  with  God  ?  Alas !  that 
this  fickle  heart  of  mine  should  ever  wander  away. 
Alas!  that  it  should  ever  seek  at  the  cisterns  what 


1 56  Constantinople. 

it  can  only  find  in  the  fountain.  Pray  for  me.  You 
can  have  no  concejotion  of  the  state  of  this  city.  I 
never  walk  its  crowded  streets  or  look  on  the  dark 
cypresses  marking  the  place  of  sepulture,  but  I  sigh 
and  am  sad.  It  lies  heavy  on  me.  One  day  it  shall 
be  the  Lord's.  Little  is  doing,  and  things  seen  per- 
sonally are  very  different  from  what  is  seen  through 
reports  at  a  distance. 

"  To  all  the  friends  I  send  my  Christian  love  and 

affection.     Mrs.  F seems  often  as  if  with  me. 

Is  poor  M ,  or  I ,  or  B yet  fleeing  from 

the  wrath  to  come?     H ,  M ,  C ,  all,  I 

hope,  remember  me.  How  precious  time  is  here. 
I  often  long  for  the  rest  of  one  hour,  but  I  cannot 
find  it.  May  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  rest  on 
you.  Uprightness  of  heart  and  integrity  of  soul  I 
feel  I  need  much.  What  a  place  integrity  has  in  the 
Word!  Divine  leading  and  integrity  go  together. 
Surely,  one  day  we  shall  sing  in  the  heights  of  Zion. 
What  hinders  it?  We  deal  with  an  unchanging 
God.  I  hope  to  hear  soon  from  you.  In  much 
haste. 

"Yours  in  Christian  bonds, 

"Duncan  Matheson." 

"Constantinople,  16th  July,  1856. 

"I  have  very  lately  bidden  the  Crimea  and  all 

its  many  scenes  and  trials  farewell.     Scarcely  one 

soldier,  Englisli,  French,  or  Sardinian,  is  left  in  it. 

A  few  connected  with  the  commissariat  may  be ;  of 


Exodus  of  the  Tartars.  157 

the  line  not  one.  The  winding  up  was  a  scene  of 
constant  bnstle  and  mnch  hilarity.  iVll  were  glad 
to  be  off,  and  the  cheers  of  the  soldiers  were  much 
heartier  on  leaving  than  on  entering. 

"I  was  witness  of  many  touching  scenes,  but  the 
saddest  of  all  was  the  exodus  of  the  Tartars.  Such 
a  scene  I  never  witnessed.  The  old  men  raised 
their  hands  and  wept  as  they  took  their  last  look 
from  the  vessel's  deck,  and  the  poor  women  buried 
their  faces  in  their  hands,  scarce  daring  to  cast  a 
look  upward.  Many  of  our  soldiers  I  saw  deeply 
affected;  and  yet  the  great  mass  of  the  Tartars 
thanked  God  that  they  had  the  prospect  of  getting 
from  under  Russian  oppression,  and  smoked,  laughed 
and  chatted  as  if  nothing  was  wrong.  They  are  a 
poor  race,  and  strong  in  their  afiection  for  Mahom- 
edanism,  much  stronger  than  many  of  the  Turks 
are.  I  fear  a  strange  tale  may  yet  have  to  be  told 
of  them  under  Turkish  rule,  and  breathing  the  air, 
the  deadly  tainted  air,  of  the  Dobrudscha. 

"  My  object  in  going  to  the  Crimea  w_as  accom- 
plished. I  had  been  asked  to  come,  carrying  the 
Word  of  Life  to  the  Sardinians.  My  arrival  was 
known  to  a  few,  and  soon  it  ran  as  wildfire  through 
the  camp.  In  one  day  seven  hundred  soldiers  and 
officers  visited  me,  asking  for  Bibles;  and  ere  the 
last  soldier  had  left  the  scene  of  their  trials  and  tri- 
umphs I  had  given  2,347  Italian  Bibles,  1,230  Italian 
Testaments,  and  upwards  of  3,400  books  and  tracts. 
I  did  not  offer  one  copy,  I  did  not  present  one  tract. 


158  A  False  Story. 

All  were  asked;  and  250  officers  of  all  ranks  either 
called  or  wrote  for  Bibles.  It  was  all  done  in  open 
day.  It  was  known  to  thousands.  There  was  no 
disguise,  and  no  efforts  to  proselytize.  They  asked 
for  God's  Word — who  would  withhold  it?  They 
had  it;  and  pleasing  is  the  fact,  that  18,000  copies 
of  it  have  entered  Piedmont  during  the  last  twelve 
months.  Noble  men,  they  deserve  well  at  Britain's 
hand !  They  entered  the  struggle  when  all  looked 
dark  and  gloomy.  They  have  fought  well,  and  sus- 
tained the  honor  of  Italy ;  and  their  conduct  has  been 
such  as  to  call  fortli  universal  admiration.  I  never 
met  a  republican  in  their  army.  All  love  their  king 
and  country,  and  long — how  evidently  long  no  other 
can  tell — for  the  emancipation  of  fair  yet  down-trod- 
den Italy. 

"  A  story  once  appeared  in  our  leading  journal, 
copied  into  all  the  other  papers,  of  a  complaint  and 
prohibition  being  made  against  the  giving  of  the 
Bible.  We  believe  the  then  correspondent  (not  Mr. 
Eussell,  whose  accounts  I  have  ever  seen  truthful  and 
correct)  was  deceived.  No  prohibition  was  ever  ut- 
tered ;  and  if  complaints  were  made,  they  were  not 
heard  of  The  whole  army  were  implicated.  What 
could  be  done  ?  Generously  they  were  left  to  their 
own  convictions,  and  General  Delia  Marmora  and 
our  own  generals  deserve  the  thanks  of  all  who  love 
and  value  the  Bible.  To  the  friends  in  and  around 
Huntly  I  send  my  hearty  thanks  for  generously  help- 
ing me  in  this  work.. 


The  Wrongs  of  Italy.  159 

" I  am  no  politician;  but  I  cannot  but  feel  that  a 
solemn  time  is  at  hand  regarding  Italy.  It  is  im- 
possible to  keep  such  a  noble  people  long  in  slavery, 
or  under  the  iron  heel  of  despotism;  and  I  know 
there  is  not  one  man  in  the  Sardinian  army  but  has 
felt  anxious  for  the  time  when  he  shall  be  called  to 
the  field  to  unfurl  the  banner,  and  strike  the  blow. 
They  have  learned  much  in  this  struggle.  They 
have  been  inured  to  hardship,  and  trained  to  the 
vicissitudes  of  a  camp ;  and  in  the  next  war  of  Ital- 
ian independence,  we  believe  Piedmont  shall  be  the 
rallying-point  round  which  all  Avill  cluster.  States- 
men stand  aghast  at  the  wrongs  of  Italy,  and  know 
not  how  to  interfere.  Its  regeneration  is  a  question 
sun'ounded  by  many  difiiculties;  yet  the  solving 
will  one  day  come.  Naples  has  her  crowded  pris- 
"ons;  the  ftiir  plains  of  Lombardy  are  trodden  by  the 
Austrian  vassal ;  Tuscany  seeks  to  stifie  the  truth ; 
Kome  is  kept  by  the  soldiery  of  France.  The  ques- 
tion of  Italy  is  closely  connected  with  the  East.  If 
war  should  arise  there,  the  nations  of  Eui'ope  will 
be  more  or  less  involved.  Then  comes  the  time  for 
Kussia  to  strike ;  for  no  one  here  believes  her  preten- 
sions are  finally  laid  aside,  and  are  led  to  feel  that 
Turkey,  drained  and  inert,  can  form  no  bulwark 
against  either  Eussian  diplomacy  or  arms,  if  left 
alone  in  the  conflict. 

"No  one  can  credit  the  hatred  existing  between 
the  Muscovite  and  Turk.  Their  enmity  to  us  will 
soon  subside :  for  in  the  Crimea  I  had  much  inter- 


i6o  State  of  Turkey. 

course  with  the  Eussian  soldiery,  having  had  the 
privilege  of  giving  them  480  copies  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. These  I  found  them  very  ready  to  receive, 
and  many  were  the  expressions  of  their  gratitude. 
In  few  countries  is  the  censorship  of  the  press  so 
strict  as  in  Southern  Russia,  and  there  is  well-nigh 
a  total  lack  of  literature  of  any  kind.  In  the  city 
of  Simpheropol,  there  is  not  one  bookseller's  shop, 
and  not  a  page  of  literature  is  sold.  For  years  not 
a  copy  of  the  Russian  Scriptures  has  entered  Odessa, 
and  the  Russian  prisoners  who  had  received  them 
were  deprived  of  them  on  landing.  From  all  quar- 
ters they  came  visiting  ruined  Sebastopol,  and  it 
was  often  painful  to  see  them  looking  in  blank  as- 
tonishment and  sorrow  over  the  place  where  their 
houses  had  been,  and  trying  to  fix  the  boundary  of 
their  lot.  There  seems  a  servility  in  the  Russian 
soldier  not  to  be  found  in  the  English  or  French. 
AVhat  may  be  done,  now  the  Crimea  is  their  own 
again,  no  one  can  tell.  It  is  supposed  tourists  will 
have  no  liberty  of  inspecting,  and  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  may  not  be  carried  strictly  out. 

"  As  to  Turkey,  its  real  condition  is  not  known. 
Its  exchequer  is  exhausted — its  resources  unexplored 
— its  army  much  wasted — its  progress  just  where  it 
was.  They  are  generally  far  from  grateful  for  the 
help  we  have  rendered,  and  feel  the  same  contempt 
for  the  Giaour  as  before.  The  prejudices  of  some  of 
the  higher  classes  are  exploded,  and  some  have  got 
the  length  of  thinking  attempts  at  reformation  are 


Intcrcotirse  with  the  French.  i6i 

necessary.  At  home  things  regarding  Turkey  have 
been  much  exaggerated.  The  promulgation  of  the 
new  law  has  excited  high  hopes,  and  been  hailed 
with  joy,  as  well  it  may.  But  who  is  to  carry  it 
out?  Turkey  makes  laws  and  then  is  powerless  in 
putting  them  into  effect.  With  many  it  is  a  ques- 
tion if  she  really  means  it ;  but  we  believe  the  time 
is  drawing  on  for  great  reforms,  and  sweeping 
changes  cannot  be  made  in  any  nation  in  a  day. 
Good  laws  may  be  made,  but  a  people  needs  to  be 
created  to  value  them,  or  carry  them  out.  Christian- 
ity for  Turkey  is  only  what  can  save  her,  and  give 
her  a  place  among  the  nations  of  Europe  far  greater 
than  she  can  ever  have  under  the  reign  and  rule  of 
the  Koran.  Serious  disturbances  are  apprehended, 
but  they  may  come  to  nothing ;  and  Britain  will,  we 
hope,  demand  the  carrying  out  of  those  reforms  to 
obtain  which  the  flower  of  our  army  have  found 
graves  in  a  foreign  soil,  many  of  our  homes  have 
been  left  desolate,  and  our  resources  drained. 

"I  have  had  much  intercourse  with  the  French 
since  March  here  and  in  the  Crimea,  having  along 
with  a  friend  given  them  2,000  copies  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, in  very  many  cases  asked.  In  some  cases 
they  came  for  miles  for  them.  Glad  are  they  to  get 
home.  The  East  has  lost  its  attractions,  and  in  their 
real  character  they  look  and  long  for  something  new. 
They  have  extended  their  influence  immensely  in 
the  East,  and  one  would  often  think  it  is  dominant. 
No  effort  has  been  spared  for  its  becoming  so,  and 
11 


1 62  opening  Doors. 

the  study  of  the  French  language  in  the  Turkish 
colleges  has  greatly  helped  it  forward.  A  little  time 
will  be  necessary  ere  the  bearing  of  things  can  be 
clearly  seen.  Every  thing  at  present  is  at  a  stand- 
still, and  of  trade  there  is  little.  On  Saturday  the 
English  sovereign  was  less  in  value  than  it  has  been 
for  years. 

"I  had  intended  to  give  you  an  account  of  the 
missionary  operations  here,  but  I  have  not  time 
at  present.  Doors  are  opening  on  every  hand.  A 
spirit  of  inquiry  is  abroad.  The  sleep  of  many  years 
has  been  broken  by  the  stirring  events  of  the  war. 
Every  thing  is  in  motion.  Now  is  the  time  for  the 
Word  to  be  scattered,  and  to  let  the  nations  that 
have  so  long  been  in  darkness  have  the  sound  of 
the  glorious  Gospel,  whose  message  is  'Peace  on 
earth,  and  good  will  to  men.' 

"Duncan  Matheson." 

In  Constantinople  he  devoted  much  of  his  time 
and  attention  to  the  French,  by  whom  he  was 
treated  with  the  greatest  consideration  and  kind- 
ness. When  he  went  to  Sweet  Waters,  where  a 
French  division  was  stationed,  the  officer  in  com- 
mand ordered  out  his  men,  and  when  they  had 
fallen  into  rank,  the  missionary  was  permitted  to 
go  the  round  and  present  each  man  with  a  New 
Testament,  tract,  or  book. 

His  heart  was  set  on  doing  something  for  the 
Turks.     In  the  ancient  temple  of  IMahomedanism 


Attacked  by  a  Mob.  163 

chinks  were  opening  through  which  silvery  rays  of 
Gospel  truth  were  quietly  stealing.  Matheson,  hav- 
ing picked  up  a  little  Turkish,  used  to  frequent  the 
burial-places,  and  wait  there  for  hours,  praying  that 
God  would  open  some  Mahomedan  mourner's  heart 
to  hear  the  truth  concerning  one  Jesus.  Never  did 
the  prayer  remain  unanswered.  Some  sorrowing 
one,  standing  or  sitting  by  the  grave  of  their  dearly- 
beloved,  would  listen  to  the  stranger  telling  in  his 
few  blundering  Avords  about  Him  who  is  the  resur- 
rection and  the  life. 

This  indiscriminate  distribution  of  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures was  not  unattended  by  the  evils  of  waste  and 
abuse.  Yet  there  were  not  wanting  instances  of 
good  springing  out  of  this  very  evil.  A  Turkish 
lady  one  day  received  from  her  grocer  a  parcel 
wrapped  in  a  leaf  of  the  Bible.  The  leaf  Avas  read, 
an  interest  in  the  strange  book  was  awakened,  and 
the  lady  sent  a  member  of  her  household  to  inquire 
if  the  merchant  could  send  her  another  leaf  of  the 
same  kind.  All  that  remained  of  the  precious  vol- 
ume was  carried  home,  and  who  can  tell  but  the 
interest  awakened  may  have  deepened,  under  the 
Spirit's  teaching,  into  faith  and  salvation? 

An  intense  longing  to  put  a  copy  of  God's  Word 
into  the  hands  of  a  pasha  or  some  other  Turk  of 
influence  was  gratified  in  a  curious  way.  One  day, 
when  distributing  the  Scriptures  at  Sweet  Waters, 
he  was  attacked  by  an  infuriated  mob  of  Greeks, 
whose  religious  antipathies  had  been  thorouglily 


164  The  Pashas  Apology. 

aroused.  To  escape  their  wrath  he  took  refuge  in 
a  ship.  Next  day  a  gentleman,  brother  of  a  cer- 
tain pasha,  called  at  his  lodgings  to  convey  the  re- 
grets of  the  great  man  at  the  ill-treatment  the  mis- 
sionary had  received  from  the  Greeks,  at  the  same 
time  requesting  for  the  pasha's  use  a  copy  of  the 
Word  of  God.  My  readers  will  not  forget  that  at 
this  time  an  Englishman  was  held  in  peculiar  honor 
by  the  Turks,  hence  the  pasha's  apology.  The  mis- 
sionary, of  course,  did  not  fail  to  send  the  book  of 
God  to  the  pasha,  nor  did  he  forget  to  praise  God 
for  this  answer  to  his  prayer.  On  the  Greeks  he 
sought  revenge  by  endeavors  to  disseminate  among 
them  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  that  are  for  all 
people ;  but  his  success  was  small.  One  family  of 
Greeks  appeared  to  derive  benefit  from  his  labors ; 
but  for  the  most  part  the  way  was  not  prepared  for 
the  entrance  of  the  Word  of  God  among  them. 

As  winter  drew  near  he  prosecuted  his  enterprise 
with  redoubled  energy.  Daily  did  he  take  his  stand 
at  the  Golden  Horn,  and  distribute  his  books  to  the 
thousands  crossing  to  the  other  side  on  their  way  to 
all  parts  of  Asia.  "The  work  gets  harder,"  he  writes. 
"The  Turks  and  Greeks  get  more  prejudiced.  Yet 
the  Lord  reigneth,  and  all  his  purposes  shall  be  ac- 
complished. .  .  .  How  soon  all  wanderings  here 
shall  close.  Life's  sand  is  running  fast.  We  hear 
the  summons  daily.  Oh  to  hear  it  indeed,  and  pre- 
pare to  meet  God !  I  look  daily  forward  to  this,  to 
be  with  Him  and  like  Him." 


Illness.  165 

"Constantinople,  Nov.  5th. 
"  Since  I  last  wrote  you  I  have  been  very  ill  and 
confined,  bnt  I  am  better,  and  at  work  again.  I  was 
so  weak  that  one  day  when  I  tried  to  rise  I  fell,  and 
have  got  one  eye  bruised.  I  suppose  I  must  have 
fainted." 

"Constantinople,  Nov.  18th. 
"I  feel  weak  indeed,  and  have  had  medical  advice. 
There  is  no  danger,  but  I  must  cease  work,  and  when 
called  to  do  so  I  am  like  a  chained  lion.  The  total 
lack  of  any  comfort  has  been  much  against  me. 
Many  a  day  almost  without  food,  and  have  had  to 
be  contented  with  food  of  any  kind.  .  .  .  Since 
March  I  have  been  enabled  to  distribute  nearly 
10,000  copies  of  the  Scriptures — 1,000  of  them  to 
Turks — and  60,000  tracts  and  books  in  all  languages. 
The  value  of  all  has  been  about  £1,000,  and  truly  I 
may  say  the  Lord  has  provided.  ...  I  had  a 
letter  from  Piedmont  lately.  The  work  is  going  on 
nobly  there.  Perhaps  I  may  get  'The  Knowledge 
of  Sin,'  by  William  Burns,  translated  into  Armenian. 
Dr.  Dwight  is  examining  it  at  present.  Truly  he  is 
a  godly  man." 

Entirely  prostrated,  he  lay  for  some  time  at  the 
point  of  death.  During  this  period  he  was  tenderly 
watched  by  his  friend  Mr.  M'Kutcheon,  of  the  Jew- 
ish Mission,  and  to  him,  under  God,  he  believed  he 
owed  his  life.  As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  rise,  he 
settled  his  affairs  and  left  Constantinople  for  Egypt. 


1 66  To  Egypt, 

From  Egypt  he  sailed  for  Italy,  where  he  visited  his 
friends : 


Italy,  1857. 


"My  Dear  Sir:  In  my  last  I  gave  you  some  ac- 
count of  matters  in  the  East,  which  I  hope  you  duly 
received.  Since  leaving  Constantinople  I  have  vis- 
ited Egypt,  ascended  its  pyramids,  drunk  of  its  river, 
and  gazed  with  deepest  horror  on  the  spiritual  state 
of  its  inhabitants.  I  have  heard  the  groans  of  the 
oppressed  Sicilians,  and  seen  the  gloomy  prisons  of 
Naples,  its  blinded  devotion  and  its  down-trodden 
condition.  I  have  walked  the  streets  of  Eome,  ad- 
mired its  palaces,  entered  its  catacombs,  once  the 
refuge  of  oppressed  Christianity,  and  talked  amidst 
its  ruins  to  its  enslaved  people,  and  every  day  has 
convinced  me  we  know  little  of  Popery  at  home,  and 
deal  far  too  lightly  with  such  a  soul-destroying  sys- 
tem. As  it  is  in  Italy  no  one  can  portray,  no  mind 
can  fully  conceive,  and  no  language  can  express. 
Every  eye  is  turned  towards  it,  and  every  Christian 
heart  utters  the  cry,  'How  long,  0  Lord?'  In  Sicily 
the  people  sigh  for  freedom,  but  still  cling  to  the 
system  that  has  chained  them.  It  is  a  fair  and  lovely 
land,  but  it  is  blighted.  The  number  of  priests  in  it 
is  incredible,  and  the  education  of  the  young  is  wholly 
in  their  power.  I  saw  here  a  brazen  head  of  John  the 
Baptist  in  a  charger  carried  from  door  to  door,  every 
one  placing  money  in  the  charger;  and  in  many 
streets  you  meet  a  man  demanding  money,  having 


Rome  and  Naples.  167 

on  a  box  carried  for  the  purpose  the  words,  'For 
the  souls  in  purgatory.' 

' '  At  Naples  it  is  worse.  On  e veiy  church  you  read, 
'  Indulgences  granted ; '  and  you  see  at  every  step 
men  and  women  prostrated  before  the  picture  of  the 
Virgin ;  and  at  one  column  raised  in  her  honor  it  is 
written,  '  An  indulgence  of  fifty  days  granted  to  all 
praying  here.'  I  saw  on  the  Grand  Square  more 
than  one  thousand  people  prostrate  before  the  Host, 
and  asked  one  what  it  was.  To  which  he  replied, 
'  It  is  Jesus  Christ.'  Terrible  is  the  condition  of 
Naples.  Terror  is  marked  on  every  face;  and  I 
could  hardly  get  one  to  speak  to  me,  because  every 
third  person  in  the  streets  is  a  spy.  Many  shops  are 
shut,  and  you  feel  the  very  atmosphere  oppressive ; 
whilst  cannon  is  to  be  seen  pointing  down  its  prin- 
cipal thoroughfares.  Naples  is  a  land  where  few 
Bibles  have  yet  entered,  and  the  people  are  deeply 
sunk  in  ignorance,  and  bound  to  Komanism  more 
than  any  other  people  in  Italy.  Political  and  spir- 
itual freedom  are  the  results  of  Protestantism,  and 
go  linked  together.  Naples  knows  neither.  .  .  . 
Bibles!  there  are  no  Bibles  in  Eome.  I  entered 
every  bookseller's  shop  in  it,  and  could  only  find 
two — one  in  Latin,  the  other  in  Italian.  Preach- 
ing !  there  is  none  in  Rome.  The  glory  of  the  cross 
is  darkened,  and  the  way  of  salvation  through  it  is 
never  proclaimed.  You  have  relics — Madonnas, 
holy  altars,  indulgences,  by  thousands,  and  masses 
for  living  and  dead ;  but  no  pointing  to  the  Lamb, 


1 68  Rome  and  Romanism. 

no  inviting  of  weary  sinners;  no  justification  by 
faith.  Christian  hterature !  truly  you  may  say  there 
is  none.  You  have  heaps  of  lying  legends  of  lives 
of  saints,  of  flimsy  novels ;  but  the  Index  Expurga- 
torius  excludes  all  works  worth  the  reading;  and 
sprinkling  Avith  holy  Avater  is  considered  more  safe 
than  unloosing  the  mind  and  giving  scope  to  the 
intellect.  Freedom!  ah,  it  is  not  in  Eome.  Ask 
the  inquisitors,  and  they  will  tell  the  price  of  seek- 
ing it,  and  as  you  ask,  listen  to  the  music  coming 
from  the  Pope's  dragoons.  Commerce,  trade,  agri- 
culture— alas !  a  withering  blight  is  on  the  land,  and 
the  fairest  portion  of  God's  earth  is  left  untilled.  So 
true  is  it,  that  wherever  Popery  has  most  potently 
maintained  herself,  there  life  has  become  extinct, 
and  prosperity  and  morality  have  disappeared,  as  if 
under  the  influence  of  some  mysterious  malediction. 
The  worship  of  Italy  is  the  worship  of  Mary — pic- 
tures of  Mary — statues  of  Mary — churches  to  Mary 
— columns  to  Mary — songs  to  Mary — prayers  to 
Mary,  in  every  spot.  Idolatry !  where  is  it,  if  you 
see  it  not 'in  Eome?  Go  to  the  church  of  Ara  Coeh, 
and  there  you  will  see  a  small  image  of  Jesus,  with 
many  kissing  its  feet,  and  crossing  themselves  before 
it.  Wait  for  a  little.  The  priests  take  it  up,  enter 
a  coach,  and  drive — that  the  sight  of  it  may  cure 
some  dying  person !  Yes.  Startle  not.  The  priests 
told  us  it  had  performed  many  miracles;  and  the 
people  prostrating  themselves  before  it  is  a  proof 
that  they  believe  it.     Common  is  it  to  see  written 


Infidelity  in  Rome.  169 

over  many  altars — '  Specially  privileged ; '  '  For  the 
dead ; '  '  Every  mass  said  at  this  altar  frees  a  soul 
from  purgatory.'  And  in  large  gilded  letters  you 
often  read — '  Plenary  indulgences  granted  by  spe- 
cial favor  of  the  Pope.'  Where  is  the  Luther  to  cry 
with  trumpet-tongue,  and  proclaim  the  vicious  na- 
ture of  such  Pagan  Christianity  to  its  blinded  devo- 
tees, pointing  them  only  to  Him  who  is  the  Way, 
the  Truth,  the  Life  ?  Sadly  deserted  are  the  churches 
of  Eome,  and  most  of  the  educated  have  become  in- 
fidels. They  asked  for  bread,  but  got  a  stone.  The 
craving  for  something  better  could  not  be  met ;  for 
the  Gospel  was  buried,  and  Christ  was  not  named. 
It  is  the  natural  result  of  such  training,  and  sad  is 
the  account  to  be  rendered  by  the  authors  of  it. 
Pleasing  was  it  to  go  from  all  this  to  the  gloomy 
catacombs,  and  see  engraved  tombs  of  the  early 
Christians — the  calm,  sublime  hopes  which  they  en- 
joyed! Simple  are  the  inscriptions,  yet  what  so 
cheering? — 'In  Peace;'  'In  Christ.'  Eome  has 
nothing  there  to  favor  one  of  her  doctrines.  They 
knew  them  not. 

"Need  I  tell  you,  Italy  knows  no  Sabbaths. 
Feast-days  have  more  authority;  and  the  people 
look  astonished  when  you  tell  them  God  has  com- 
manded all  His  day  to  be  kept  holy.  It  is  their 
day  of  greatest  enjoyment.  Every  theatre  is  opened 
in  Rome ;  and  if  any  one  had  witnessed  the  Sabbaths 
of  the  Carnivals  now  ended,  they  would  go  home 
resolved  to  keep  it  inviolate,  and  be  led  to  bless  God 


I/O  The  Gospel  in  Italy. 

they  lived  in  a  land  where  in  great  measure  the 
keeping  of  the  Sabbath  is  known.  In  this  matter 
— and  it  is  well  it  should  be  known — the  Protes- 
tants on  the  Continent — ministers  and  people,  are 
very  lax.  They  do  not  look  on  it  with  the  same 
sacredness  that  we  do.  The  evil  effects  of  such 
views  daily  appear,  and  almost  universally  our  own 
countrymen  leave  keeping  of  Sabbaths  at  home. 
One  fact  is  worth  mentioning :  I  have  never  yet  seen 
one  in  Italy  drunk,  and  during  the  days  of  the  Car- 
nival thousands  met  every  day, 

"And  now  you  will  be  ready  to  ask.  What  is  do- 
ing in  Italy  for  the  spread  of  the  truth,  and  how  does 
the  work  succeed?  The  question,  for  many  reasons, 
is  difficult  to  answer.  I  can  say  nothing  of  Kome, 
but  that  I  believe  many  of  the  people  would  hail  the 
Bible,  if  it  were  put  within  their  reach.  Throughout 
all  Italy  there  is  a  preparation  in  the  people's  minds 
for  this,  and  in  many  instances  far,  far  more.  They 
desire  to  see  the  Book  which  is  kept  from  them. 
Tens  of  thousands  of  them  have  their  eyes  open  to 
the  evil  of  Papacy.  This  is  well,  but  it  goes  no  far- 
ther. In  the  case  of  thousands — yea,  millions,  at- 
tachment to  the  Romish  religion,  if  not  to  Pope  and 
priests,  is  as  strong  as  ever.  Even  in  Piedmont  this 
is  the  case ;  and  in  the  case  of  others,  here  and  there 
saving  conversion  has  followed  the  reading  of  the 
Word  through  the  divine  blessing.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  Tuscany,  where  every  effort  is  made 
to  keep  it  from  them,  and  where  the  surveillance  is 


TJie  Word  in  Piedmont.  171 

stricter — ranch  stricter  than  ever  it  was  before.  Tns- 
cany  is  the  tool  of  Austria,  and  yet  the  work  goes 
on  the  more  it  is  tried  to  crush  it,  and  souls  are  born 
to  God.  Here  and  there  small  companies  meet  for 
worship,  and  in  wondrous  ways  the  truth  finds  en- 
trance. Many  are  Protestants  in  name,  though  not 
apparently  savingly  converted;  but  there  are  un- 
doubted trophies  of  grace,  and  much,  very  much,  to 
cheer  and  encourage  to  prayer.  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying,  if  liberty  were  granted,  thousands, 
many  thousands,  would  hail  the  Gospel,  and  the  de- 
mand for  the  Word  would  be  so  great  it  could  hardly 
be  supplied.  In  Piedmont — the  only  free  country  in 
Italy,  and  on  which  the  hearts  and  affections  of  so 
many  are  set — the  work  goes  on  in  some  places  rap- 
idly. We  must  now  separate  the  political  from  the 
spiritual.  One  party — ^the  greatest — seek  political 
freedom,  and  others  seek  to  know  the  truth.  A  re- 
markable advance  has  been  made.  The  Word  is 
finding  entrance  by  thousands,  and  is  read.  Men 
here  and  there,  knowing  the  truth  themselves,  are 
boldly  declaring  it,  and  the  Lord  is  giving  testimony 
to  the  Word  of  his  grace.  One  case  has  reached  us 
of  the  Bible  given  in  the  Crimea  having  been  blessed. 
A  soldier  brought  one  home,  and  gave  it  to  a  farmer 

near  A .    He  began  to  read  it  with  his  wife  and 

family,  and  all  became  deeply  interested.  His  neigh- 
bors also  came  to  hear  it  read,  and  joined  with  the 
farmer  and  his  family  in  sending  for  a  Waldensian 
Evangelist ;  and  thus  a  small  church  is  formed  in 


172  TJie  Light  Risin^ 


<i>' 


the  midst  of  a  dark  corner  of  Piedmont,  which  may 
yet  extend  wider  and  wider,  till  many  be  embraced 
in  its  fold.  I  do  not  know  what  may  be  the  future 
of  Italy.  I  cannot  say  how  soon  revolution  may 
shake  it  from  one  end  to  another.  I  believe  it  is 
not  far  distant.  Endurance  has  its  limits,  and  men 
may  be  made  slaves  only  for  a  time.  The  light  is 
beginning  again  to  rise  on  it.  Its  progress  we  should 
watch  with  fear  and  trembling,  being  neither  too 
sanguine  nor  depressed.  We  cannot  estimate  the 
value  of  one  soul.  God  has  lighted  a  light — shaded 
for  a  time  it  may  be — but  out  it  cannot  be  put,  nei- 
ther by  popes  nor  princes — neither  by  the  hres  of 
martyrdom  nor  the  bolts  of  a  prison.  Our  duty  is 
clear,  our  path  open,  our  command  plain.  Prayer, 
much  prayer,  must  be  made,  and  specially  for  God 
to  raise  up  men  fitted  to  carry  on  his  work,  and  in 
their  devoted,  earnest,  holy  lives  to  exemplify  the 
doctrines  they  teach.  We  know  his  truth  shall  tri- 
umph, and  triumph  gloriously,  and  that  even  now 
the  first  streaks  of  light  on  the  horizon  are  but  the 
prelude  of  the  full  flood  of  light  which  shall  yet  arise 
on  this  sin-blighted  world. 

"  Ever  your  affectionate  friend, 

"Duncan  Matheson. 
"Mr.  P.  Drummond." 

"Turin,  March  13th. 
"  I  have  not  had  a  minute  to  write  you  till  now, 
for  I  have  been  intensely  occupied.     I  arrived  at 
Genoa  on  the  6th,  and  remained  three  days.    I  could 


Among  the   Waldenscs.  173 

hardly  walk  a  step  without  soldiers  running  and 
saluting  me,  etc.  I  had  much  joy  in  the  presence 
of  some  of  them,  and  on  meeting  some  English 
friends.  On  Sabbath  I  addressed  a  meeting  in  the 
Free  Church,  and  felt  greatly  assisted.  On  Monday 
I  came  here,  and  immediately  started  for  the  A¥al- 
densian  valleys.  Yes,  I  have  seen  them,  and  truly 
every  spot  is  full  of  interest.  At  La  Tor  I  visited 
the  college,  church,  and  schools.  What  a  simple, 
intelligent  people !  How  can  I  tell  you  of  the  scenes 
here !  It  is  like  the  march  of  a  conqueror.  I  can- 
not move  a  step  without  being  accosted.  Sixty  sol- 
diers have  been  round  me  in  a  circle  at  once.  Hun- 
dreds have  shaken  hands  with  me.  Poor  fellows! 
they  are  deeply,  deeply  grateful.  I  feel  a  deep,  very 
deep,  interest  in  them.  To-day  I  have  been  in  the 
Parliament  House  with  Mr.  Milan,  the  Vaudois  dep- 
uty, and  was  much  and  deeply  interested.  Truly 
freedom  is  here.  Do  forgive  my  brevity.  Every 
moment  is  occupied.  I  was  in  Florence  since  writ- 
ing you,  and  escaped,  though  carrying  eight  copies 
of  the  Word  into  it.  This  is  a  wonderful  field,  and 
I  expect  much  to  be  done  here.  The  Lord  has 
helped  me  to  set  many  things  in  motion  since  my 
arrival.     To  Him  be  the  praise." 

In  March,  1857,  he  brought  his  stay  in  Italy  to  a 
close.  This  visit  was  in  reality  the  accomplishment 
of  a  great  Christian  work.  He  had  been  enabled  to 
make  his  mark  on  a  vast  number  of  the  Italian  offi- 


174  Return  Home. 

cers  and  soldiers.  "The  Sardinians'  Friend"  is  not 
yet  forgotten ;  and,  while  his  memory  is  treasured  in 
many  a  brave  heart,  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that 
he  was  the  divinely-chosen  instrument  of  enshrining 
the  Word  of  God  in  the  affections  of  thousands  who, 
but  for  his  gigantic  exertions,  would  have  returned 
to  their  native  land  to  live  and  die  in  worse  than 
Egyptian  darkness.  That  the  fruit  of  this  wide  and 
prayerful  sowing  of  the  seed,  at  the  first  blush  of 
Italy's  spring,  will  be  glory  to  God  in  the  salvation 
of  many  souls  we  cannot  but  believe. 

Passing  rapidly  through  France,  he  reached  home 
ere  yet  the  sun  of  the  northern  summer  had  waxed 
hot.  To  rest,  to  tell  his  story,  and  prepare  for  new 
labors,  needed  a  breathing-time. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

DAYS    OF    REVIVAL. 

His  native  air  speedily  restored  his  health.  Not 
one  day  was  wasted  in  needless  rest.  Often  at  this 
period  did  he  at  public  meetings  tell  his  Crimean 
story  amidst  torrents  of  tears ;  but  he  always  took 
care,  when  the  fountains  of  emotion  were  stirred,  to 
cast  the  bread  of  truth  upon  the  waters,  in  the  hope 
of  finding  it  after  many  days.  Invited  by  the  min- 
ister of  the  Free  Church  at  Insch,  he  occupied  the 
pulpit  for  the  first  time.     Here  he  held  the  first  in- 


In  Cinnberland.  ly^ 

quirers'  meeting,  which  was  attended  by  a  few,  and 
among  the  rest  an  old  man  who  said,  "I've  come 
that  ye  may  search  me  weel.  Oh,  dinna  scruple  to 
try  me,  as  it  wad  be  a  fearfu'  thing  to  be  deceived 
for  eternity.  Noo,  sir,  begin."  "John,"  said  the 
evangelist,  " do  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus ? "  "I 
dinna  doot  that,"  was  the  reply,  "  but  I  wad  like 
mair."  The  old  disciple  was  still  inquiring.  Dur- 
ing his  three  months'  labor  at  Insch  several  persons 
were  awakened.  One  of  these  afterwards  became 
an  elder  in  a  Free  Church,  and  another,  a  young 
woman,  became  the  wife  of  a  missionary,  and  was 
instrumental  in  winning  souls. 

In  October,  1857,  he  went  to  labor  as  an  evange- 
list in  Whitehaven,  at  the  request  of  a  minister  of 
the  Church  of  England,  who  was  desirous  of  pro- 
moting the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  native  place.  Pie 
found  the  soil  of  Cumberland  stiff;  but  his  labors 
were  not  wholly  in  vain.  It  was  a  sowing-time 
rather  than  a  harvest.  Then  he  began  to  preach 
every  day,  a  practice  he  followed  throughout  the 
rest  of  his  active  ministry.  "To  this  place,"  he  says 
in  a  letter,  "I  have  almost  done  my  duty.  Surely, 
if  I  go  home  I  shall  get  a  little  rest.  Best  did  I  say  ? 
Nay,  truly,  whilst  health  is  granted.  The  days  pass 
swiftly.  Soon  all  will  be  gone.  Since  I  came  here 
I  have  not  got  half  an  hour  to  take  my  dinner  at  a 
time,  and  the  door  is  widening  on  every  hand." 

Here  he  resorted  agam  to  the  press.  When  lying 
at  the  point  of  death  in  the  East,  he  had  prayed  that 


i;6  "  The  Herald  of  Mercy r 

ten  years  might  be  added  to  his  life,  and  vowed  that 
if  spared  he  would  publish  a  testimony  for  Christ. 
The  prayer  was  answered,  and  the  vow  duly  per- 
formed. The  testimony  for  Jesus  took  the  form  of 
a  little  monthly  periodical,  which  he  entitled,  "  The 
Herald  of  Mercy."  After  much  prayer  he  issued  the 
first  number  at  the  close  of  1857.  "I  had  no  money 
to  advertise  it  with,"  he  tells,  "  but  I  trusted  in  God, 
and  cried  to  Him  to  spread  and  bless  it  for  his  own 
glory."  Under  his  editorship  it  held  on  its  way  till 
it  reached  a  circulation  of  32,000  a  month.  It  was 
declared  by  many  to  have  been  the  herald  of  mercy 
to  their  souls.  Its  aim  was  the  awakening  and  con- 
version of  sinners.  It  was  not  designed  or  specially 
adapted  for  the  edification  of  saints,  excepting  so 
far  as  it  kept  before  the  eye  of  believers  the  Avorth 
of  souls  and  the  realities  of  the  eternal  world.  Never 
did  the  trumpet  give  a  more  certain  sound  than  in 
the  mouth  of  "  The  Herald  of  Mercy."  It  recognized 
nothing  on  earth  but  soiils:  souls  in  sin,  and  souls  in 
Christ:  souls  going  to  heaven,  and  souls  going  to 
hell.  Every  article,  paragraph,  and  sentence,  orig- 
inal or  selected,  bore  directly  and  plainly  on  the 
great  truths- — ruin,  regeneration,  and  redemption. 
The  little  messenger  was  owned  of  God,  as  a  few 
facts  will  show. 

A  stranger  came  to  Mr.  Matheson  one  day  in  Crieff, 
and  asked  him  if  he  remembered  a  "  Herald  of-Mer- 
cy  "  with  an  article  headed,  "  Quench  not  the  Spmt." 
"That,"  said  he,  "  was  the  means  of  my  conversion." 


The  Harvest.  177 

An  English  lady,  resident  in  Constantinople,  for 
whose  spiritual  welfare  much  had  been  done  in  vain, 
received  from  a  friend  a  copy  of  the  "  Herald."  The 
reading  of  it  resulted  in  her  conversion. 

A  tradesman  in  Berwickshire  one  day  finding  a 
fragment  of  paper  on  the  floor,  picked  it  up,  and  as 
a  matter  of  curiosity,  began  to  read.  It  proved  to  be 
part  of  the  "  Herald  of  Mercy,"  being  a  brief  article, 
headed,  "Are  you  converted?"  It  was  an  arrow 
from  the  King's  own  bow.     Conversion  followed. 

Two  young  men  stood  side  by  side  at  an  open-air 
meeting.  One  of  them  held  in  his  hand  a  copy  of 
"  Special  Herald,"  with  hymns ;  but  while  they  sang 
the  eye  of  his  companion  wandered  from  the  verses 
to  a  little  paragraph  put  in  to  fill  a  vacant  corner. 
It  was  enough :  both  eye  and  heart  were  fixed.  The 
little  article  spoke  with  divine  power,  and  brought 
him  to  Jesus'  feet.  The  young  man  is  now  a  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel. 

A  herd-boy  was  sitting  at  the  wayside,  when  some 
one  passing  put  a  "  Herald  of  Mercy"  into  his  hand. 
As  he  tended  the  cattle  he  read,  was  awakened,  and 
brought  to  Christ.  He  is  now  known  as  a  devoted 
follower  of  Christ. 

Invited  by  Lady  Pirrie,  he  went  to  Malvern  in 
the  autumn  of  1858,  and  labored  there  for  a  short 
time.  Here  on  the  hill-side  he  held  his  first  open- 
air  meeting,  and  felt  he  received  a  special  call  to 
this  kind  of  work  in  the  blessing  that  attended  the 
service.  Henceforth  he  gave  himself  to  preaching 
12 


178  His  Marriage. 

in  the  open  air.  By  day,  by  night,  beneath  the 
summer  sun,  out  in  the  drenching  rain  or  piercing 
cold  of  winter,  in  the  remote  glen  amidst  the  bleat- 
ing of  the  sheep,  at  the  sea-side,  where  the  singing 
of  David's  psalms  mingles  with  the  still  more  an- 
cient harmonies  of  the  great  ocean,  on  the  crowded 
street,  in  the  noisy  fair,  beneath  the  shadow  of  the 
scaffold,  in  the  face  of  the  raging  mob — everywhere, 
in  short,  as  far  as  in  him  lay,  he  strove  to  preach 
Christ  to  perishing  men.  In  this  way  his  voice 
reached  many  who  otherwise  would  never  have 
heard  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation. 

From  Malvern  he  retraced  his  steps  to  Cumber- 
land, and  for  a  while  labored  at  Workington.  Here 
by  invitation  of  the  people  he  occupied  the  pulpit  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  combined  the  offices 
of  pastor  and  evangelist.  His  preaching  excited  no 
ordinary  interest.  Crowds  flocked  to  hear  him,  and 
not  a  few  were  impressed. 

On  February  2d,  1859,  he  was  married  at  Weston- 
super-Mare  to  Miss  Mary  Milne,  a  Christian  lady 
whom  he  ever  regarded  as  an  invaluable  gift  be- 
stowed upon  him  in  answer  to  prayer.  Not  one  day 
was  withdrawn  from  labor.  Exuberantly  social  and 
tenderly  affectionate  though  he  was,  the  winning 
of  souls  was  to  him  infinitely  more  than  the  most 
endearing  relationship  or  the  most  hallowed  earthly 
joy.  "  We'll  get  settled  up  yonder  in  the  Father's 
house,"  he  said;  "meanwhile  let  us  work  and  win 
souls." 


Expecting  a  Blessing.  179 

In  the  spring  of  1859  Mr.  Matlieson  returned  to 
Scotland,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the  city  of 
Aberdeen.  The  great  reHgious  awakening  of  that 
period  was  just  beginning.  Tidings  of  the  work  of 
grace  in  America  and  Ireland  stirred  the  hearts  of 
Christians,  and  many  were  in  expectation  of  a  sim- 
ilar blessing.  The  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication 
was  poured  down,  and  many  a  blessed  scene  was  now 
witnessed.  The  winter  was  indeed  past,  and  the 
time  of  the  singing  of  birds  come.  The  beginning 
and  progress  of  the  work  were  everywhere  char- 
acterized by  a  real  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer, 
and  the  power  that  attended  the  testimony  of  Chris- 
tians to  Christ.  In  answer  to  prayer  the  treasured 
petitions  of  years  seemed  to  be  granted  in  one  day. 
The  simplest  utterances  of  even  babes  in  Christ  were 
instrumental  in  converting  sinners.  In  fact,  the  tes- 
tifying of  believers  and  its  effect  was  a  marked  feat- 
ure of  the  work.  In  teaching,  the  truth  is  set  forth 
simply  on  its  own  merits.  In  preaching,  there  is  an 
authoritative,  herald-like  proclamation  of  the  Gospel 
in  the  King's  name.  In  testifying,  the  speaker  bears 
witness  to  matters  of  fact  of  which  he  is  personally 
cognizant.  The  best  preacher,  doubtless,  is  teacher, 
herald,  and  witness,  all  in  one.  But  testifying  has 
its  place  and  power.  Many  were  saying,  "Christ  is 
dead;  Christianity  is  dead,"  when  suddenly  thou- 
sands arose,  and  with  one  voice  declared,  "Christ  is 
not  dead.  He  lives,  and  the  proof  is  this.  He  has 
saved  us :  He  has  raised  to  a  new  life  us  who  were 


i8o  Prcachinor  at  Abei^deen. 


0> 


dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  "The  Lord  gave  tlie 
word,  and  great  was  the  company  of  those  that 
pubhshed  it." 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  work  began,  at 
least  in  its  more  striking  manifestations,  in  the  fish- 
ing village  of  Ferryden,  and  quickly  extended  to 
the  numerous  little  towns  that  dot  the  north-eastern 
coast.  It  reminded  many  of  the  beginning  of  the 
Lord's  ministry  in  the  fishing  villages  of  Galilee; 
and  the  recent  gracious  visit  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
our  own  Galilean  regions  seemed  to  some  like  the 
return  of  an  old  love. 

In  Aberdeen  Mr.  Matheson  occupied  the  pulpit 
of  Blackfriars  Street  Independent  Chapel.  Joining 
his  friends,  Mr.  Eadclifi*e  and  Mr.  Campbell  (minis- 
ter of  Free  North  Church),  he  threw  himself  heart- 
ily into  the  work.  Not  satisfied  with  ordinary  effort, 
they  set  themselves  to  carry  the  war  into  the  very 
camp  of  the  enemy  by  open-air  services  in  the  streets 
and  elsewhere.     In  writing  to  a  friend,  he  says : 

"I  have  only  time  for  a  few  words,  and  my  ob- 
ject in  writing  is  specially  to  ask  your  prayers  that 
at  this  time  the  Lord  may  greatly  bless  me  in  the 
ingathering  of  souls.    Yesterday  was  one  of  the  most 

remarkable  days  I  have  spent  in  my  life.    Mr.  F , 

the  godly  man  who  brought  me  to  Aberdeen,  was 
well  yesterday  morning.  He  went  at  two  o'clock 
to  the  meeting  in  the  County  Buildings;  read  16th 
of  John,  sang  a  psalm,  engaged  in  prayer  for  the 
outpouiing  of  the  Spirit,  sat  down,  cast  his  eyes  to 


Wo7'k  of  Grace  in  Aberdeen.  i8i 

heaven,  gave  a  deep  sigh,  and  in  a  moment  his  spirit 
was  with  Jesus  whom  he  loved.  At  eight  o'clock 
Mr.  Campbell  and  I  preached  to  thousands  in  the 
open  air.  What  a  night !  We  had  over  and  over 
again  to  preach.  The  crowds  had  to  be  divided,  for 
they  were  too  large.  We  could  not  till  nearly  eleven 
o'clock  get  away  from  the  awakened.  Mr.  Eadclilfe 
was  unable  to  speak.  Pray,  pray  for  us.  The  Lord 
is  doing  great  things.  I  believe  almost  every  time 
one  speaks  souls  are  brought  to  Christ.  Pray  for  me 
— for  humility.  The  Lord  bless  you.  I  am  weary. 
"Yours  in  Him, 

"DuNCAif  Matheson." 

Speaking  of  the  work  of  grace  in  Aberdeen,  in  a 
letter  of  date  17th  August,  1859,  he  says: 

"After  a  residence  of  nearly  five  months  in  this 
city,  and  having  come  in  contact  with  the  work  in 
all  its  phases,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  a 
great  and  glorious  work  of  grace  has  been  felt  here, 
and  that  it  is  still  going  on.  It  is  impossible  to  esti- 
mate its  extent,  or  gather  up  one  half  of  the  results. 
More,  far  more,  has  been  done  than  is  apparent ;  and 
yet  it  is  a  fact  that  numbers  have  been  more  or  less 
influenced  by  the  truth,  and  that  many,  very  many, 
manifestly  have  been  brought  to  Christ.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  of  this,  and  as  yet  I  have  not  met  one 
case  of  any  truly  awakened  returning  to  the  world. 
The  Lord  has  given  a  visible  stamp  to  not  a  few,  and 
the  zeal,  love,  affection,  prayerfulness,  and  humility 


1 82  TJie   Young  Meeting  for  Prayer. 

of  many  of  the  young  converts  is  remarkable.  I 
never  during  my  life  saw  more  deep  concern  for 
souls  tlian  I  have  seen  here,  and  the  close  clinging 
to  each  other,  though  in  different  churches,  is  re- 
freshing— most  refreshing.  Groups  of  the  young 
are  to  be  found  here  and  there  throughout  the 
whole  city  meeting  for  prayer ;  and  one  thing  has 
struck  me  almost  more  than  any  thing — the  holy 
boldness  in  confessing  Christ,  and  acknowledging 
what  He  has  done  for  their  souls.  Another  striking 
thing  is  this,  that  few  have  found  Christ  themselves, 
but  they  have  been  instrumental  in  the  awakening 
of  others.  Many  instances  of  this  have  come  under 
my  notice.  A  leading  feature  in  the  prayers  of  the 
young  converts  is  the  prayer  offered  up  for  the 
Christian  ministry.  One  would  often  think  they 
were  burdened  with  the  care  of  the  ministry ;  and 
a  high,  deep  respect  for  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
in  so  far  as  they  are  owned  of  God  and  devoted  to 
His  work,  is  manifest.  We  have  had  the  revival, 
and  the  fruits  are  apparent  to  all  who  have  min- 
gled in  the  work.  Often  has  it  pained  us,  many 
going  away  and  saying,  'I  saw  none.'  Nay,  and 
liow  could  they,  if  they  did  not  go  where  it  was, 
and  if  they  did  not  ask  those  who  do  know  it? 

"The  grace  of  God  has  been  much  displayed  in 
not  a  few  instances  that  have  come  under  our  notice, 
of  parties  coming  to  spend  a  Sabbath  in  the  city, 
going  away  to  their  homes  deeply  awakened,  or  re- 
joicing in  Jesus,  and  becoming  centres  of  blessing 


spread  of  the  Awakening.  183 

where  tliey  lived.  I  have  passed  through  many 
parishes  in  the  country,  and  found  here  and  there 
anxious  souls;  and  one  thing  is  undeniable,  that 
never  was  there  a  time  when  so  many  were  thirst- 
ing for  the  Word,  and  that  w^here  ministers  have 
taken  advantage  of  this,  and  entered  with  intensity 
into  this  new  state  of  things,  there  a  blessing  has 
descended.  At  Chapel  of  Garioch,  Banchory,  etc., 
the  Lord  has  been  working,  but  with  much  power 
at  Chapel  of  Garioch ;  and  I  believe  that  there  is  not 
a  parish  around  it  but  has  its  awakened  ones.  The 
truth  that  above  all  others  seems  to  be  owned  is — 
'  You  are  lost.  A  Saviour  has  been  provided.  It  is 
your  duty  to  accept  Him  now'  Ruin  by  the  fall, 
righteousness  by  Christ,  and  regeneration  only  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  are  the  leading  truths  of  every  ad- 
dress. They  are  uttered  in  much  simplicity,  from 
loving  hearts  (I  speak  of  ^Ir.  Radcliffe  and  the  min- 
isters well  known  engaged  in  the  work),  and  in 
much  dependence  on  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  bless- 
ing does  descend.  We  can  convince  no  one  if  they 
will  not  believe.  Hearts  leap  for  joy,  and  songs  of 
holy  triumph  are  sung.  The  Spirit  is  breathing ;  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  working;  the  gale  is  blowing;  the 
tide  has  risen  and  is  still  rising.  Blessed  they  that 
take  advantage  of  it,  and  girding  themselves  for  the 
battles  of  the  Lord,  go  forth  to  preach  Christ, 

** '  As  dying  men  unto  dying  men.' 

But  how  sad  to  awake  and  find  the  opportunity 


184  Awakening  in  Garioch. 

gone,  and  hear,  in  the  looks  of  hardened  smners, 
powerless  sermons,  and  unheeded  warnings,  the 
voice,  deep  and  solemn — '  Thou  Itadst  a  day.''  God 
bless  you  evermore." 

From  Aberdeen  he  went  frequently  to  the  country, 
and  found  many  of  the  rural  parishes  awakening  as 
out  of  a  deep  sleep.  Let  us  follow  him  to  two  or 
three  places  of  interest.  An  awakening  took  place 
in  the  Free  Church  of  Garioch  in  August,  1859.  Mr. 
Matheson  was  present  when  the  work  began.  "  The 
prominent  characteristic  which  ever  attracted  most 
our  love  for  Mr.  Matheson,"  writes  Mrs.  Bain,  wife 
of  the  esteemed  minister,  "was  his  devoted  and  con- 
tinual watching  and  working  for  the  salvation  of 
eouls.  I  noticed  thi^  at  my  first  rneeting  with  him, 
which  occurred  in  a  stage-coach  about  1848,  on 
which  occasion  I  was  greatly  refreshed  while  listen- 
ing to  a  conversation  in  which  I  found  my  two 
fellow-travellers  engaged  when  I  entered  the  coach. 
One,  an  elderly  man,  was  making  objections  to  the 
doctrine  of  sovereign  grace.  The  other,  a  young 
man,  although  evidently  suffering  under  severe 
toothache,  was  using  the  opportunity  to  plead  for 
truth  Avisely  and  lovingly.  I  felt  so  interested  as  to 
be  constrained  to  inquire  on  reaching  our  journey's 
end  after  his  name,  and  found  it  was  Duncan  Mathe- 
son, then  said  to  be  a  stone-cutter,  but  evidently  be- 
ing prepared  to  use  skilfully  the  hammer  of  the 
Word  of  God  in  polishing  living  stones  for  the  great 
temple.     Some  years  afterwards,  being  employed  in 


Reginald  Radcliffe.  185 

missionary  work  in  and  around  Huntly,  he  was 
asked  to  address  a  meeting  here,  which,  I  think, 
was  almost  the  first  of  his  evangehstic  labors  beyond 
his  native  district.  From  that  occasion  onward  to 
his  last  visit,  alter  his  illness  was  far  advanced, 
many  were  his  kind  and  stirring  visits  to  ns  and 
among  us,  and  many  have  cause  to  bless  God  for 
them. 

"  Mr.  Matheson  was  engaged  to  preach  here  on 
the  evening  of  August  4th,  1859,  Mr.  Bain  being 
then  in  Ireland,  drawn  over  by  the  great -revival 
there.  Some  days  before  I  received  an  intimation 
from  Mr.  Radcliffe  of  his  willingness  to  come  and  ad- 
dress oui*  people,  and  spend  some  time  here,  which 
being  accepted,  Mr.  Matheson's  previous  engage- 
ment proved  a  very  gracious  arrangement  in  prov- 
idence for  leading  him  to  be  present,  and  giving  his 
most  valuable  assistance  on  that  remarkable  night 
of  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  people 
gathered  from  the  surrounding  district,  his  previous 
knowledge  of  not  a  few  of  them  giving  him  an  ad- 
vantage in  dealing  with  the  many  souls  awakened 
on  that  memorable  occasion. 

"After  the  market-preaching  began,  Mr.  IMatheson 
came  to  us  for  several  years  on  the  Sabbath  nearest 
the  Whit-sunday  and  Martinmas  terms.  These  visits 
were  looked  forward  to  with  desire,  and  much  prized 
by  our  people.  On  one  of  these  Sabbaths  the  power 
of  God  was  manifest  upon  the  souls  of  many,  espe- 
cially in  the  afternoon.     ]\Ir.  Bain  being  absent,  I 


1 86  Prized  Visits, 

was  called  out  of  church  after  the  close  of  the  first 
service,  and  while  a  prolonged  meeting  was  being 
held  on  account  of  the  agitated  state  of  some  young 
persons.  I  found  at  the  church  door  a  lad  who  had 
long  been  in  my  Sabbath  Bible-class,  and  who  up 
to  the  morning  of  that  day  had  been,  as  far  as  I 
could  see,  entirely  hard  and  careless,  answering 
questions  with  perfect  ease  and  indiiference,  so  that 
I  found  it  necessary,  in  order  to  keep  him  in  his  own 
place,  to  frame  questions  of  some  difficulty  for  him. 
My  amazement  was  great  to  see  his  usually  hard 
face  pale,  his  whole  frame  trembling.  And  when  I 
asked  the  cause,  he  could  only  gasp,  'My  sins!  my 
sins ! '  I  brought  him  and  his  sister,  also  awakened, 
to  the  Manse,  and  advised  them,  after  other  efforts 
to  help  them,  to  cry  to  God.  'I  cannot  pray,'  he 
said,  in  great  distress.  I  left  them  a  little,  and  then 
returned,  when  I  found-  him  wrestling  in  an  agoniz- 
ing way  to  find  the  words  which  were  gradually 
coming  out  of  his  lips.  Mr.  Matheson  took  much 
interest  in  this  case,  which,  after  some  time  of  deep 
distress,  appeared  to  isssue  in  a  new  birth  and  con- 
sistent profession.  The  young  man  having  left  this 
neighborhood,  I  have  not  seen  him  for  several  years. 
"Mr.  Matheson's  influence  over  the  people  here 
was  great,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that,  after 
the  revival  in  1859-60,  he  one  day  threw  out  while 
preaching  a  suggestion  that  the  young  men  of  our 
congregation  should  agree  to  support  a  native  Chi- 
nese evangelist  under  Mr.  Wm.  Burns.     A  few  took 


Mathe son's  Preaching  Attractive.  187 

lip  the  idea,  and  ever  since  the  yearly  salary  has 
been  gathered,  although  he  who  suggested  and  some 
who  began  the  work  now  rest  from  their  labors. 

"Mr.  Matheson's  preaching  was  wonderfully  at- 
tractive in  most  places  to  some  whose  position  and 
previous  training  would  not  have  led  one  to  expect 
a  Scottish  lay-evangelist  to  be  listened  to  with  plea- 
sure. But  I  believe  the  secret  of  his  power  lay  in 
his  deep  heart-yearning  over  souls,  and  dealing  with 
God  in  secret  for  them  in  connection  with  the  sanc- 
tified wisdom  and  tact  with  which  the  JNIaster  gifted 
him  as  a  fisher  of  men. 

"  He  was  engaged  in  this  work  in  season  and  out 
of  season,  in  secret  and  in  public.  On  one  occasion, 
while  walking  alone  in  this  neighborhood,  a  lady 
passed  on  horseback,  whose  general  bearing  and 
talents  had  led  him  to  feel  interested  in  her  while 
yet  a  stranger  to  saving  grace.  He  retired  into  a 
wood,  then  and  there  knelt  down,  and  cried  to  God 
for  her  conversion ;  and  I  doubt  not  this  was  one  of 
the  links  in  the  appointed  chain  of  circumstances 
by  which  ere  long  she  was  drawn  by  the  cords  of 
divine  love  to  God,  and  became  for  a  few  years,  till 
called  to  the  home  above,  a  bright  Christian." 

Towards  the  close  of  1859  he  began  to  extend  his 
evangelistic  itineracy  to  Banfi'shire,  preaching  for 
the  most  part  in  the  towns  and  villages  along  the 
coast.  His  labors  were  specially  blessed  in  the 
burgh  and  seaport  of  Cullen.  This  little  town  is 
situated  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  looking  full  in  the 


1 88  Visitin(r  Cullen 


^> 


face  the  blue  waters  of  the  Northern  Sea,  where  it 
begins  to  narrow  into  the  beautiful  Frith  of  Moray, 
whose  ample  tide  is  bounded  on  the  southern  shore 
by  wild,  picturesque,  and  caverned  rocks ;  whilst  the 
lofty  mountains  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness  rise  far 
upon  the  deep,  like  giant  warders  of  the  northern 
coast.  Beneath  the  burgh  proper  lies  the  fishing 
village  in  a  tumult  of  houses  upon  the  beach,  where 
the  storm  often  breaks  with  Arctic  fury,  casting 
clouds  of  spray  high  into  the  air,  and  sometimes  in- 
vading the  cottages  that  line  the  shore. 

Early  in  1860  the  whole  place  was  moved  as  by 
an  earthquake.  Fear  took  hold  on  the  sinners  in 
Zion;  trembling  seized  the  hypocrites.  Careless 
ones,  whose  shadow  had  not  darkened  the  door  of 
God's  house  for  many  years,  found  their  way  to 
church  or  chapel ;  and  even  worldly  men  talked  to 
one  another  about  the  great  question  upon  the 
streets.  At  first  the  awful  shadow  of  an  angry 
God  coming  to  judgment  fell  on  many,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  there  was  one  dead  in  every  house. 
Awakening  was  followed  by  conversion.  The  thun- 
der of  Sinai  gave  way  to  the  peaceful  sunshine  of 
Calvary.  Christians  who  had  never  known  the 
liberty  of  the  Gospel  were  suddenly  delivered  from 
the  spirit  of  bondage,  and  ushered  into  the  joyful 
assurance  of  acceptance  in  the  Beloved. 

Our  evangelist  visited  Cullen  just  as  the  work  of 
grace  was  becoming  manifest,  and  preached  fre- 
quently in  the  Free  and  Independent  churches,  re- 


i 


A  Powei'ftd  Sermon.  189 

ceiving  from  the  pastors  a  cordial  welcome.  On  one 
memorable  night  he  preached  to  a  crowded  congre- 
gation in  the  Free  Church.  The  subject  of  his  dis- 
course was  "The  Barren  Fig-tree."  From  the  be- 
ginning of  the  service  a  deep  solemnity  rested  on 
the  people,  and  the  minds  of  many  were  in  a  state 
of  strange  expectancy.  Unveiling  the  truth,  the 
preacher  describes  a  community  favored  with  the 
light  and  privileges  of  the  Gospel.  Privilege  after 
privilege  is  enjoyed.  Sabbath  follows  Sabbath  in 
peaceful  succession.  Opportunity  after  opportunity 
occurs,  and  sermon  on  sermon.  Mercy  presses  on 
the  heels  of  mercy,  like  the  bright  days  of  summer 
chasing  time  to  its  wintry  close.  The  sharp  dispen- 
sations of  the  providential  pruning-knife  come  again 
and  again.  But  all  is  in  vain.  The  sunshine  and 
the  rain  have  been  to  no  purpose;  the  digging  and 
the  dunging  have  been  in  vain.  The  Father's  love 
has  been  to  them  as  nought.  The  blood  of  the  Son 
has  been  despised.  The  grace  of  the  Spirit  has 
brought  forth  no  fruit  in  them.  Forbearance  and 
intercession  have  yielded  no  result  but  failure.  After 
the  resources  of  the  Godhead  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
what  then?  The  people  know  that  He  is  drawing 
their  portrait  with  unmistakable  resemblance.  Feel- 
ing they  are  found  out  among  the  trees  of  the  gar- 
den, they  tremble  and  listen  with  breathless  atten- 
tion. The  sonorous  voice  of  the  preacher  grows 
thrillingly  solemn  and  tender  as  he  proceeds,  till  at 
length  he  pours  out  his  last  warning  in  a  torrent  of 


IQO  ^^ Remember  Lot's  WifeT 

compassionate  feeling.  His  eye  glances  with  an 
awful  light,  as  if  he  is  looking  into  eternity,  while 
he  lifts  his  hands  and  pronounces  the  sentence  with 
a  mighty  and  judgment-like  voice,  "  Cut  it  down  ; 
why  cumbereth  it  any  longer  the  ground?"  Never 
did  woodman  aim  a  better  stroke.  God  is  in  the 
Word.  Old  rotten  trunks  are  crashing  beneath  the 
blow.  One  and  another  are  saying  with  irrepressi- 
ble alarm,  "It  is  I!  it  is  I !  God  be  merciful  to  my 
soul ! "  The  results  are  with  Him  who  knoweth  all 
things;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  some  of 
the  audience  will  remember  that  night  and  the  fell- 
ing of  the  barren  fig-tree  amidst  the  songs  and  joys 
of  eternity. 

On  another  memorable  occasion  he  preached  in  the 
Independent  Chapel.  The  little  meeting-house  is 
crowded  to  the  door.  The  night  is  intensely  cold 
and  dark.  The  frost  having  rendered  the  ordinary 
lights  unavailable,  the  darkness  is  made  visible  by  a 
single  candle  which  the  preacher  holds  in  his  hand. 
His  text  is  "Remember  Lot's  wife."  The  narrative 
receives  a  graphic  handling.  The  clear  sky  of  early 
morn  suddenly  darkens,  a  cloud  of  appalling  black- 
ness throws  the  shadow  of  approaching  judgment 
upon  the  cities  of  the  plain.  Then  a  gleam  of 
more  than  lightning  vividness  kindles  all  the  air,  a 
whirlwind  of  fire  sweeps  down  upon  Sodom  and 
wraps  its  four  corners,  its  every  street  and  suburb, 
its  every  house  and  chamber,  its  every  man  and 
woman,  in  the  very  winding-sheet  of  hell.    Ah !  now 


His  Success  in  Ctillen.  191 

the  inhabitants  of  the  doomed  city  wake  to  find  that 
their  damnation  shimbereth  not.  But  a  Httle  band 
of  four  escapes.  An  angeHc  saviour  leads  them  on. 
Well  may  they  hasten,  for  the  devouring  fire  sweeps 
fast  along  the  plain.  One  of  the  four  lingers,  only 
a  little ;  but  a  little  is  at  this  awfal  moment  decisive 
of  much.  God's  wrath  is  abroad.  Is  this  a  time  to 
trifle?  The  fiery  tempest  suddenly  closes  her  round, 
and  there  she  stands  under  an  eternal  arrest,  a  pillar 
of  salt.  Some  such  picture  is  before  the  eye  of  the 
people's  imagination  as  the  preacher  proceeds  to  the 
more  important  part  of  his  discourse — its  application 
to  the  consciences  of  the  hearers.  God  enters  by  lit- 
tle, lowly  doors  into  men's  hearts.  The  Spirit  uses 
little  things  to  make  and  deepen  impressions  of  the 
unseen  and  the  eternal.  The  darkness  of  the  place ; 
the  solitary  candle  throwing  a  dim,  pale  light  on  the 
preacher's  countenance,  and  giving  it  a  strange  weird 
look;  the  deep  silence,  broken  only  by  a  sigh  or  a 
sob,  and  the  solemn  tones  of  a  voice  speaking,  as  it 
were,  out  of  the  invisible,  and  warning  every  trifler 
with  the  soul  and  with  God  to  "remember  Lot's  wife," 
conspired,  in  the  hand  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  bring 
about  one  of  those  supreme  moments  of  crisis  when 
souls  must  and  do  decide  their  destiny  for  eternal 
weal  or  eternal  woe. 

Our  evangelist  made  his  mark  on  the  young  men 
of  the  town.  His  broad,  free,  genial  manners  capti- 
vated their  hearts ;  his  talents,  magnanimity,  and  up- 
rightness commanded  theu'  respect.    Many  of  them 


192  James   Wilson. 

were  converted  at  this  time ;  and  it  was  pleasing  to 
see  the  finest  youths  of  the  place  sitting  in  a  com- 
pany round  about  their  father  in  the  faith,  and  re- 
ceiving his  counsels  as  from  an  angei  of  God.  For 
the  young  men  he  had  a  pecuhar  love:  they  were 
his  joy,  and  as  his  very  life.  He  cared  for  their  in- 
terests as  a  father  for  his  children,  and  cherished 
them  as  a  nurse  cherishes  a  babe.  He  guided  them 
with  skill,  warning  them  against  the  errors  of  his 
own  early  Christian  days;  and  having  won  their 
confidence,  he  strove  to  lead  them  to  the  highest 
idea  of  the  life  of  faith.  In  particular,  he  ever  urged 
upon  them  entire  consecration.  "Be  out  and  out 
for  Christ,"  he  would  say;  "nail  your  colors  to  the 
mast;  labor  for  God,  and  live  for  eternity."  In  this 
way  he  succeeded  in  stamping  upon  them  the  im- 
press of  his  own  decided  and  energetic  character, 
and  through  the  grace  given  him  inspired  them  with 
an  intense  longing  to  win  souls.  One  of  them  is  now 
an  ordained  missionary  in  China ;  another  labors  in 
Turkey;  a  third  preaches  the  Gospel  at  home;  a 
fourth  is  preparing  to  take  the  field  as  a  medical 
missionary;  and  others  are  occupying  their  talent 
in  the  quiet  corners  of  the  vineyard. 

An  instance  of  the  way  in  which  the  fire  was  then 
spreading  may  be  here  given.  James  Wilson,  a  na- 
tive of  Cullen,  and  an  accomplished  classical  scholar, 
was  at  that  time  master  of  a  school  at  Aberfeldy,  in 
Perthshire.  Hearing  of  the  work  of  grace  in  his 
native  town,  he  was  deeply  moved.     Previous  to 


Ti'tidging  Through  Rain  and  Snow.      193 

this  he  had  regarded  earnestness  in  rehgion  as  a 
mere  extravagance;  but  now  "the  name  to  hve 
whilst  dead"  satisfied  him  no  longer.  The  work  of 
God  began  in  the  village,  and  the  minister  of  the 
Free  Church  was  frequently  assisted  by  Mr.  Mathe- 
son.  The  teacher  was  led  to  take  a  decided  stand 
for  Christ,  and  thenceforth  all  his  learning  and  in- 
fluence were  given  to  the  work  of  the  Lord.  His 
school  became  a  nursery  for  the  church  and  the  di- 
vinity hall.  Remarkable  success  attended  his  labors 
among  the  youths,  some  of  whom,  after  a  brilliant 
academic  career,  have  entered  on  the  work  of  the 
ministry  with  much  promise  of  usefulness.  The 
course  of  the  devoted  teacher  was  terminated  by 
an  early  translation  to  glory. 

Cullen  lay  much  on  the  heart  of  the  evangelist. 
For  years  he  continued  to  visit  it,  laboring  to  win 
its  inhabitants  to  Christ.  On  his  Avay  thither  many 
a  weary  mile  did  he  trudge,  often  amidst  the  rains 
and  snows  of  winter,  receiving  no  pay  and  seeking 
no  reward  but  "  souls."  Divining  his  motives,  the 
shrewd  fishermen  said,  "That  man  fishes  by  the 
cran ; "  that  is  to  say,  he  is  no  mere  hireling :  he 
labors  not  for  a  comfortable  living,  but  finds  his  re- 
ward in  the  number  of  souls  saved.  Often  was  his 
stentorian  voice  heard  ringing  from  the  centre  of  the 
toAvn  to  its  circumference  in  the  quiet  of  the  even- 
ing, when  the  deepening  shades  added  solemnity  to 
the  preacher's  word;  and  strong  men  were  known 
to  tremble  at  their  own  fireside  as  the  question  fell 
13 


194  Memorable  Scenes. 

upon  their  unwilling  ears,  "Who  shall  stand  before 
this  holy  Lord  God?" 

In  most  of  the  villages  that  stud  the  Banffshire 
coast,  a  stranger  in  those  days  had  but  to  signify  his 
willingness  to  preach  the  Gospel,  when  suddenly,  as 
if  by  magic,  the  whole  population,  men,  women,  and 
children,  would  assemble  to  hear  the  Word  of  God. 
To  see  the  great  crowd  kneeling  reverently  on  the 
grass  amidst  the  deepest  silence  broken  only  by  a 
groan,  a  sob,  a  loud  cry  for  mercy,  to  be  followed  by 
fond,  enthusiastic  demonstrations  of  love  and  hearty 
songs  of  praise,  characteristic  of  these  impulsive  chil- 
dren of  the  sea,  was  a  sight  impressive  beyond  de- 
scription, and  never  to  be  forgotten.  From  such 
scenes  Duncan  Matheson,  like  one  refreshed  with 
the  new  wine  of  the  kingdom,  was  wont  to  come 
away  singing  his  favorite  Psalm — 

♦*  When  Zion's  bondage  God  turned  back, 
Like  men  that  dreamed  were  we; 
Then  filled  with  laughter  was  our  mouth, 
Our  tongue  with  melody." 

The  landward  parishes  were  not  overlooked  by 
the  great  Redeemer  as  He  marched  along  the  sea- 
coast  in  glorious  majesty :  from  His  bountiful  hand 
the  blessings  of  His  grace  were  now  being  scattered 
far  and  wide.  The  reapers  on  the  field,  from  the 
master  to  the  gleaner,  were  known  to  lay  aside  at 
noonday  the  urgent  labors  of  the  harvest  to  attend 
to  the  more  pressing  business  of  the  soul.    Jesus  was 


Seizing  Opportunities.  195 

gathering  golden  sheaves  into  his  garner.  IMathe- 
son  at  this  period,  strong  to  reap  rather  than  patient 
to  sow,  lent  his  powerful  aid  in  every  place.  Few 
in  all  that  region  missed  hearing  the  jubilant  voice 
of  our  sturdy  reaper,  and  seeing  the  gleam  of  his 
sharp  sickle  among  the  yellow  corn.  Prompt  in 
word  and  deed,  skilful  above  most  men  to  strike  the 
iron  while  it  was  hot,  brooking  no  restraints  of  mere 
policy  or  empty  form,  and  impetuous  almost  beyond 
measure,  he  was  in  his  proper  character  an  Arab  in 
the  service  of  the  King.  Hungering  after  great  re- 
sults, having  capacity  for  work  and  fatigue  enough 
for  two  men,  and  withal  possessing  that  rare  and 
dangerous  power  of  will  by  which  strong  souls  can 
indefinitely  postpone  the  season  of  rest,  the  un- 
wearied spirit  keeping  the  wearied  flesh  up  to  its 
own  high  mark,  our  evangelist  moved  from  one 
place  to  another  with  the  rapidity  of  a  courier  in 
the  crisis  of  battle.  Seizing  the  opportunities  that 
will  not  tarry  for  the  timid  or  the  too  cautious,  he 
launched  on  the  full  tide  when  others  were  laying- 
down  canons  for  discussing  the  conditions  of  its  ebb 
and  flow.  The  very  air  seemed  full  of  elements 
deeply  solemn  and  heart-touching.  A  divine  pres- 
ence rested  everywhere,  and  men  were  compelled 
for  a  time  to  breathe  the  atmosphere  of  eternity. 
Doors  that  might  soon  close  were  opening  on  every 
side,  and  the  energetic  lay-preacher  Avas  not  slow  to 
enter  in.  Pushing  along  the  coast  as  far  north  as 
Moray  and  Nairn,  he  bent  his  steps  into  the  mte- 


196  The  Evangelist  at  Dnndee. 

rior,  and  visited  Dufftown,  Tomintoul,  and  Braemar. 
Sweeping  southward  to  the  counties  of  Forfar  and 
Perth,  he  gradually  extended  his  circuit  until  it 
embraced  the  whole  country  from  John  o'  Groat's 
to  the  English  border.  To  follow  him  into  every 
town  and  parish  is  impossible :  we  can  only  seize  on 
a  few  points. 

In  the  gracious  visitations  of  this  period  Dundee 
was  not  passed  by.  In  the  many  evangelistic  ser- 
vices then  held  in  this  town  Mr.  Matheson  lent  fre- 
quent and  effective  aid.  He  preached  in  churches 
of  various  denominations,  and  his  voice  was  often 
heard  in  the  open  air.  One  winter  he  remained 
here  three  months,  every  day  and  night  of  which 
was  spent  in  exhausting  but  fruitful  toil.  One  Sab- 
bath evening  early  in  1860,  he  addressed  a  crowded 
congregation  in  Hilltown  Church.  An  unwonted 
solemnity,  deepening  as  the  service  proceeded  into 
a  feeling  of  awe,  seemed  to  rest  on  the  audience. 
The  preacher  discoursed  from  Matthew  xxv.  *46: 
"And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment :  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal."  In  words 
most  telling  and  pictures  most  vivid  he  described  the 
sinner  s  going  away — away  from  the  fair  scenes  of 
nature,  from  the  warbling  of  the  birds  and  the  mur- 
mur of  the  brooks,  from  the  smiling  of  the  summer 
sun  and  the  rich  glow  of  autunni — away  from  every 
lovely  sight  and  every  pleasant  sound — away  from 
friends  and  home  and  social  joys,  of  every  thing  dear 
to  the  heart  of  man  upon  the  earth — away  from  the 


I 


A  Hcart-mclting  SccJte.  197 

peaceful  Sabbath,  with  its  hallowed  services  and  its 
heavenly  calm,  to  hear  the  sound  of  the  Sabbath 
bell  and  the  song  of  praise  no  more  Ibrever — away 
from  the  affectionate  efforts  and  touching  appeals 
of  the  faithful  preacher,  and  from  the  sympathies  and 
prayers  of  Christian  friends — away  from  the  Bible, 
with  its  beautiful  stories,  its  comforting  promises, 
and  its  heavenly  truths,  like  God's  windows,  letting 
down  light  upon  a  dark  world — away  from  all  the 
peace  and  purity  and  hope  of  the  Gospel — away 
from  God,  whose  mercy  they  reject,  forever — away 
from  J  esub,  whose  blood  they  trample  beneath  their 
feet — away  from  the  gracious  Spirit  to  whom  they 
have  done  so  great  despite — away  from  all  joy  and 
blessing  and  good,  for  evermore.  To  render  the 
truths  more  vivid,  he  described  a  heart-melting 
scene  he  had  witnessed  in  the  East  in  the  depart- 
ure of  a  weeping  crowd  of  Circassian  exiles,  whose 
loud  and  agonizing  wail  told  the  love  they  bore  to 
their  fatherland,  from  which  they  were  being  driven 
by  the  scourge  of  war.  As  he  went  on  in  his  own 
pathetic  manner,  with  a  certain  grandly  plaintive 
music  as  of  eternity  in  his  voice,  to  describe  the  de- 
parture of  the  woe-stricken  exiles  of  sin  and  despair 
into  the  blackness  of  darkness  forever,  speaking  as 
feelingly  as  if  he  saw  them  disappearing  in  that  dis- 
mal and  unknown  night,  the  heavy  sigh,  the  stifled 
sob,  and  the  pallor  on  many  a  face,  revealed  the  all 
but  uncontrollable  emotion  of  the  people.  At  the 
close  of  the  service  the  session  and  vestry  were 


198  '*/  Have  Found  Himr 

crowded  with  the  awakened.  The  place  was  a  Bo- 
chim.  The  first  person  that  obtained  dehverance 
started  up,  saying,  "I  have  found  Him!  I  have 
found  Him !  I  never  saw  the  way  before ! "  and  be- 
gan to  praise  and  glorify  God.  This  only  pierced  the 
hearts  of  the  others  with  a  keener  sorrow.  Fearing 
lest  they  should  be  left  in  their  sins,  they  began  to 
charge  themselves  with  unpardonable  hardness  of 
heart,  and  to  prostrate  themselves  before  God  in  the 
most  affecting  manner.  To  one  after  another  came 
peace  and  joy  in  believing,  and  quickly,  the  weep- 
ing was  changed  into  songs  of  praise.  Such  scenes 
as  these  were  afterwards  renewed  with  blessed  fre- 
quency; and  the  gracious  character  of  the  work 
came  out  in  holy  lives,  patient  sufferings,  and  tri- 
umphant deaths. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  open-air  meet- 
ings were  held  in  the  Barrack  Park  in  this  town. 
On  the  second  day  several  of  the  ministers  and 
others,  fearing  lest  there  should  be  no  blessing,  re- 
tired, on  the  suggestion  of  ^latheson,  in  great  heavi- 
ness of  spirit  to  pray.  Kneeling  on  the  grass,  we 
continued  in  intercession  for  nearly  two  hours.  It 
was  one  of  those  seasons  of  agonizing  prayer  which 
seem  ever  to  precede  a  remarkable  display  of  divine 
grace.  It  was  the  slumbering  spouse  arousing  her- 
self with  painful  effort  at  the  call  of  her  Lord ;  the 
laborious  undoing  of  the  bars  of  the  everlasting  gates 
to  let  the  King  of  glory  in.  By  the  end  of  the  pray- 
ing the  darkened  sky  began  to  pour  down  torrents 


The  Divine  Presence.  1 99 

of  rain,  and  the  mass  of  the  people,  with  most  of 
the  speakers,  were  dispersed.  The  voice  of  Duncan 
Matheson  was  heard  calHng  aloud,  "  Perhaps  God 
is  trying  us  by  the  rain;  let  us  wait  a  little."  Gid- 
eon's three  hundred  remained,  and  continued  in 
prayer  and  praise.  Mr.  Campbell  (Aberdeen),  whose 
labors  were  so  signally  owned  amongst  us  at  that 
time,  together  with  his  friend  our  evangelist,  and 
another,  leading  the  services  amidst  descending  tor- 
rents. Just  as  the  smi  was  beginning  to  shine  out 
again  and  the  rain  was  ceasing,  an  extraordinaiy 
sense  of  the  Divine  Presence  fell  upon  the  whole  as- 
sembly. Suddenly  the  Christians  were  filled  with 
great  joy.  Simultaneously  many  of  the  anxious 
found  the  Lord,  and  began  to  break  forth  in  songs 
of  praise.  Every  one  began  to  speak  to  his  neigh- 
bor of  the  Saviour  he  was  seeking  or  the  Saviour 
he  had  found.  On  passing  through  the  whole  com- 
pany, we  did  not  find  one  who  was  not  either  re- 
joicing in  Christ  or  seeking  Him  with  intense  ear- 
nestness. The  cloud  of  glory  rested  there  for  a 
season;  and  no  visible  signs  or  miraculous  gifts 
could  have  added  to  the  blessed  consciousness  and 
most  veritable  certainty  of  the  immediate  presence 
and  gracious  working  of  God.  Till  memory  fails  or 
the  more  "excellent  glory"  of  the  unveiled  face  of 
Immanuel  obliterates  the  remembrance  of  faith's 
brightest  visions  on  earth,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
forget  the  awful  nearness  of  God  at  that  time,  the 
overpowering  sense  of  blended  majesty,  love,  and 


200  Believers  Sealed  Anew. 

holiness,  the  solemn  gladness,  and  the  soft,  pure 
radiance  of  a  Eedeemer's  face  that  chased  the  dark 
shadows  of  doubt  and  sin  away  from  many  a  soul. 
"We  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  be- 
gotten of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth ;  .  .  . 
and  of  His  fulness  have  all  we  received,  and  grace 
for  grace."  Many  of  the  believers,  if  not  all,  were 
then  sealed  anew,  and  they  began  henceforth  to 
testify  to  the  grace  of  God  with  great  freedom  and 
boldness.  Some  Christians  who  had  never  known 
assurance  were  then  ushered  into  the  full  light  of 
the  Gospel;  their  bonds  were  loosed,  and  they  en- 
tered into  the  liberty  of  the  Sons  of  God.  Many 
sought  and  found  the  Lord  upon  the  spot.  The  door 
of  salvation  then  seemed  to  be  peculiarly  near,  easy 
of  entrance,  and  inviting.  Whilst  you  were  pray- 
ing with  an  inquirer,  he  would  break  out,  "  Oh,  I 
have  found  Him!"  or  "I  see!  I  see!"  And  then 
followed  the  new  song.  Often,  as  we  sung  the 
opening  verses  of  the  fortieth  Psalm,  the  light  broke 
in  upon  the  distressed  soul,  and  peace  followed. 

After  this  the  work  went  on  prosperously ;  num- 
bers were  found  awakened  at  the  close  of  every 
meeting.  Many  thousands  attended  the  open-air 
services,  and  great  power  accompanied  the  word. 
The  way  in  which  many  were  converted,  stamp  the 
movement  as  the  work  of  the  Holy  Sphit.  A  young 
man  entered  a  church  from  sheer  curiosity,  and 
stood  near  the  door  in  order  that  he  might  the  more 
conveniently  retire  if  aught  should  offend  his  ear, 


\ 


I 


Remarkable  Conversions.  201 

He  heard  the  text,  and  heard  no  more.  That  led 
to  his  conversion.  Another  young  man  was  retmii- 
ing  from  business  one  evening,  when  a  serious 
thought  took  hold  of  him.  Entering  his  room,  he 
opened  the  New  Testament  at  the  tenth  chapter  of 
the  Gospel  according  to  John.  "  Seeing  the  open 
door,"  he  said,  "  I  slipped  in,  and  now  I  find  Jesus 
to  be  the  Way."  "When  I  saw  that  my  sister  was 
so  changed  and  so  happy,"  said  another,  "  I  was 
afraid  lest  I  should  be  left,  and  in  my  alarm  I  sought 
the  Lord  and  found  Him."  "  One  shall  be  taken, 
and  another  shall  be  left,"  was  a  preacher's  text  at 
an  open-air  meeting.  A  woman  whose  husband  had 
been  recently  converted  hearing  that  word  was 
pierced  to  the  heart,  and  thus  brought  out  of  dark- 
ness into  the  "marvellous  light."  Another  was 
carelessly  passing  by,  and  hearing  the  preacher  sol- 
emnly repeat  the  question,  "  How  shall  we  escape, 
if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation  ?  "  was  arrested  and 
brought  to  the  Lord.  A  man  was  sitting  at  his  fire- 
side, when  his  wife  returned  from  a  meeting.  Some- 
thing in  her  manner  cut  him  to  the  heart ;  the  re- 
sult was  his  conversion.  A  young  woman  scoffed 
and  swore  she  would  never  attend  re^dval  meetings. 
Her  wicked  vow  recoiled  upon  her.  She  feared  she 
had  sold  herself  to  the  devil.  After  a  season  of 
mental  anguish,  she  obtained  forgiveness,  and  led  a 
new  life.  A  young  man  came  with  his  companion 
to  an  open-air  service  for  the  purpose  of  scoffing. 
He  was  awakened  and  enabled  to  receive  Christ, 


202  A   Cry  for  Mercy. 

at  which  his  friend  went  away  in  a  rage.  "  I  won- 
dered why  they  were  so  happy,"  said  another,  in 
reference  to  the  joy  of  the  Christians.  "  I  was  re- 
solved to  get  at  the  bottom  of  it,  and  had  no  rest 
till  I  found  out  the  secret  for  myself"  One  day, 
about  the  time  the  work  began,  a  piercing  cry  for 
mercy  was  heard  in  a  church.  That  cry  was  the 
voice  of  God  to  several  persons,  who  dated  either 
their  first  conviction  or  their  conversion  from  that 
day.  It  was  thus,  they  said,  things  unseen  and 
eternal  were  made  real  to  them. 

A  company  of  men  were  one  night  carousing  in 
a  public-house  in  the  outskirts  of  Dundee,  when  the 
sound  of  voices  was  heard  singing  a  spiritual  song. 
It  was  a  little  band  of  Christian  young  women  on 
their  way  home  from  a  religious  meeting,  and  they 
were  giving  expression  to  their  joy  in  the  Lord  by 
singing — 

"  One  is  kind  above  all  others, 
Oh,  how  He  loves  ! " 

The  words  of  the  hymn  fell  with  a  strange  power 
upon  the  ear  of  a  young  man  sitting  at  the  tavern 
table.  The  others  seemed  not  to  hear  the  voice  of 
the  singers  as  they  passed :  to  him  it  was  the  voice 
of  God.  He  was  arrested  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
became  dumb  with  silence.  His  companions  were 
astonished.  They  thought  he  had  suddenly  gone 
mad.  In  vain  they  questioned  him,  in  vain  they 
jeered.  He  rose  and  left  the  house.  As  he  paced 
the  street  in  the  darkness  of  night,  the  words  of  the 


Diversities  of  Operations.  203 

hymn  kept  ringing  in  his  ears.  He  thought  of  the 
love  of  that  Saviour  wliom  he  had  hitherto  rejected. 
The  thought  pierced  his  heart,  and  he  burst  into 
tears.  I  shall  never  forget  his  subdued  and  grieved 
look  as  he  made  his  way  into  my  study  and  told  me 
how  God  had  smitten  his  heart  in  the  public-house, 
and  turned  his  pleasures  into  wormwood  and  gall. 
He  seemed  to  see  his  sins  in  the  light  of  Christ's  love. 
In  answer  to  his  eager  inquiries  about  the  way  of 
salvation,  I  did  not  fail  to  preach  Christ  to  him,  and 
not  in  vain,  I  trust,  as  he  entered  at  once  on  a  new 
course  of  life. 

As  contrasting  with  this  case  and  illustrative  of 
the  variety  of  means  employed  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  awaken  sinners,  the  following  instance  may  be 
given.  A  young  man,  well  known  to  the  writer, 
was  living  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the 
world.  He  was  not  conscious  of  a  single  thought 
respecting  a  future  state,  and  did  not  so  much  as 
believe  in  the  being  of  a  God.  His  Sabbaths  were 
spent  in  worldly  recreation  and  pleasure.  One  Lord's 
day  in  summer  he  was  rambling  in  the  fields.  The 
sun  was  shining  brightly,  and  nature  was  clad  in 
her  most  beautiful  array.  As  he  looked  on  the  smil- 
ing landscape,  suddenly  and  for  the  first  time  the 
thought  arose  in  his  mind.  All  this  must  have  had  a 
beginning:  whence  and  how  did  it  begin?  A  long 
train  of  thought  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
world  must  have  had  a  Maker.  Then  came  the  ques- 
tion, Who  is  He  ?    What  is  He  ?    Again  he  launched 


204  Converted  by  Logical  Reaso7iing. 

out  on  a  sea  of  speculation,  and  once  more  readied 
firm  ground  in  the  belief  that  the  world's  Maker 
must  be  a  living,  personal  Being,  very  great  and 
very  glorious.  By  this  time  he  had  lost  sight  of  the 
beauties  of  the  landscape,  and  felt  as  if  he  was  alone 
with  the  Creator.  Now  another  question  arose: 
What  am  I  to  this  glorious  Being,  and  what  is  He 
to  me?  On  this  line  of  thought  he  entered  with 
great  reluctance,  for  he  felt  a  misgiving  as  to  the 
result,  and  feared  He  would  discover  things  fitted 
to  render  him  unhappy.  But  he  dared  not,  he  could 
not  turn  back.  He  felt  he  was  like  a  man  waking 
up  in  a  dark  cave  with  a  solitary  ray  of  light  com- 
ing from  afar.  If  he  is  to  emerge  under  the  open 
heavens  he  must  follow  the  light.  He  tries,  he  stum- 
bles, he  is  stunned,  but  he  rises,  and  again  spying 
the  glimmer  of  distant  day,  he  holds  on  his  doubtful 
course.  He  now  said  to  himself.  If  there  be  such  an 
one  as  God  it  concerns  me  to  know  as  much  as  pos- 
sible about  him.  He  then  and  there  resolves  to  use 
all  means  to  find  out  about  God.  He  went  home 
and  betook  himself  to  reading,  meditating  and  rea- 
soning. The  next  stage  arrived  at  was  the  painful 
conviction  that  he  had  never  acknowledged  this  God, 
or  done  his  duty  to  Him,  and  had  in  fact  poured  con- 
tempt upon  Him  by  his  negligence.  As  soon  as  a- 
sense  of  guilt  thus  fastened  on  him,  he  felt  he  could 
ramble  no  more  on  the  Lord's  day.  Thenceforth  he 
began  to  pursue  his  inquiries  by  prayer  as  well  as 
reading  and  thinking.    The  light  grew ;  his  trouble 


Testimony  of  a  Dying  Man.  205 

increased.  He  would  now  see  what  Christians  had 
to  say  in  the  matter;  and  accordingly  began  to  at- 
tend the  ordinary  and  special  services  of  religion  at 
a  time  when  remarkable  power  accompanied  the 
preaching  of  the  Word.  Here  he  found  God.  He 
found  Him  in  Christ.  He  found  Him  at  the  cross. 
Now,  this  young  man's  religious  experience  has  al- 
ways seemed  to  me  to  be  a  good  practical  illustration 
of  the  text,  "We  shall  know,  if  Ave  follow  on  to  know 
the  Lord,"  and  also  of  Christ's  word,  "  If  any  man 
will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  my- 
self" He  seemed  to  act  up  to  his  light,  yielding  to 
the  force  of  truth,  truth  in  its  own  native  energy 
with  the  superadded  force  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in 
whose  light  alone  we  can  see  light.  The  logical 
faculty  is  strongly  developed  in  him ;  and  by  that 
door  the  Holy  Spirit  saw  fit  to  enter  into  his  heart. 
He  still  goes  on  reasoning  out  every  thing.  The 
other  day  I  found  he  had  just  proved  to  himself  on 
logical  grounds  these  two  things ;  first,  that  a  Chris- 
tian ought  to  be  filled  with  hmnility  and  love;  and, 
secondly,  that  no  religion  but  the  religion  of  Christ 
can  make  a  man  truly  luimhle  and  loving.  After  his 
couA^ersion,  he  found  recreation  on  the  Lord's  day 
in  teaching  a  class  in  the  Sabbath-school.  He  is 
now  prosecuting  a  course  of  study  preparatory  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel. 

Listen  to  a  dying  man.     "  Five  years  ago  I  was 
a  drunkard,  a  profane  swearer,  an  infidel,  and  httle 


2o6  A  Daughter  Saved. 

better  than  a  beast.  I  heard  the  Gospel  in  the  street. 
The  Lord  arrested  me  and  turned  me  to  Himself. 
He  has  kept  me  ever  since,  and  I  am  saved.  I  am 
going  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better.  Help 
me  to  praise  Him."     So  saying,  he  began  to  sing, 

'*  Kock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee  ; " 

and  he  literally  sang  out  his  last  breath  and  died. 

Look  at  yon  gray-haired  mother,  whose  heart  is 
beginning  to  know  joy  for  the  first  time  these  many 
years,  as  she  clasps  to  her  bosom  her  only  daughter 
recovered  from  a  life  of  folly  and  sin.  "  0  my  An- 
nie !  my  Annie !  my  ain  lost  Annie !  I  never  thocht 
I  wad  hae  seen  you  mair.  But  the  gude  God  has 
been  better  to  me  than  a'  my  fears.  Are  we  ever 
gaun  to  pairt  again,  Annie?"  "Never,  mither, 
never  I  Jesus  has  saved  me  Himsel',  an'  He  has 
promised  to  keep  me,  an'  He  will  never  brak  His 
word.  We'll  never  pairt,  mither ;  na,  by  His  grace, 
never,  never?  "  Nor  did  they  ever  part  till  the  Lord 
Jesus  came  and  took  Annie  away.  I  saw  her  de- 
part, and  in  the  truth  she  went  home  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  marriage.  The  daughter's  recovery 
led  to  the  mother's  salvation. 

A  young  man  was  one  night  awakened  at  a  meet- 
ing, and  began  to  inquire  the  way  of  life.     Night 
after  night  passed;  he  was  constantly  present,  but; 
no  peace  came  to  his  heart,  and  he  grew  worse. 
One  evening  Duncan  Matheson  took  him  aside  into  i 


A  Lost  Son  Found.  207 

the  anteroom  of  the  hall,  and  said  to  him,  "  Now, 
are  you  really  willing  to  have  this  awful  business 
settled?  Christ  is  willing,  are  you ?  "  The  young 
man  replied  that  he  was  willing.  They  knelt  to 
pray.  As  they  prayed  light  and  peace  suddenly 
dawned,  and  the  young  man  started  to  his  feet  in  a 
tumult  of  joy  and  praise.  Several  of  us,  and  among 
the  rest  the  father  of  the  young  man,  who  was  great- 
ly alarmed  at  the  son's  despair,  entered  the  room  at 
that  moment.  Addressing  the  father,  a  Cln-istian 
man,  the  evangelist  introduced  the  son,  saying,  "Sir, 
this  thy  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again ;  was  lost, 
and  is  found."  As  the  son  rushed  into  the  arms  of 
his  affectionate  and  overjoyed  father,  the  heart  of 
every  one  present  was  deeply  moved. 

A  woman,  mother  of  a  large  family,  was  one  day 
awakened,  and  so  heavily  did  the  terrors  of  the  Lord 
press  upon  her  spirit,  that  she  tied  the  house  of  God. 
She  could  bear  preaching  to  sinners,  she  said,  but 
when  the  people  of  God  were  addressed,  it  was  too 
much  for  her.  Some  can  hear  the  law  who  will  not 
hear  the  Gospel.  She  became  worse  and  worse,  till 
at  length  reason  seemed  to  be  giving  way.  She 
dreaded  to  enter  a  place  of  worship  because  she  was 
so  wicked.  At  this  juncture  Mr.  Matheson,  who  had 
frequently  spoken  to  her,  as  a  sort  of  last  resource, 
said,  "Well,  I  can  say  no  more  to  you  than  this: 
do  you  as  one  poor  soul  did,  who  said,  '  I  will  just 
lie  doon  here  till  the  Lord  lift  me  up.'"  Curiously 
enough  this  proved  to  be  the  grand  turning-point. 


\ 


2o8  Reality. 

She  said  to  herself,  "  I  will  just  do  so."  In  short,  she 
ceased  from  her  vain  efforts  of  self-help,  and  cast 
herself  on  the  Lord.  Great  was  her  joy.  She  was 
a  wonder  to  her  neighbors,  who  had  witnessed  her 
previous  "  madness,"  and,  better  still,  she  has  these 
many  years  maintained  a  thoroughly  Christian  pro- 
fession, and  one  after  another  of  her  family  has 
through  her  instrumentality  been  turned  to  the  Lord. 
One  evening  a  young  lady  of  great  intelligence 
and  personal  beauty,  who  was  perfectly  thoughtless 
and  gay,  was  induced,  as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  to 
enter  a  certain  place  of  worship.  There  was  noth- 
ing ncAV  or  striking  in  the  service,  she  thought;  "It 
is  just  the  old  thing,"  she  said  to  herself  One  thing, 
however,  struck  her  as  the  service  proceeded,  and 
that  Avas  the  solemnity  of  the  preacher.  "The  thing 
lA^J  is  evidently  real  to  him,"  she  said  to  herself;  and 
she  could  not  but  listen  to  him,  although  she  imag- 
ined she  knew  all  he  had  to  say.  The  solemnity  of 
the  preacher  impressed  her.  This  impression  was 
the  opening  of  her  heart,  and  by  this  gate  the  King 
of  glory  entered  in.  Her  subsequent  life  was  sin- 
gularly beautiful.  She  seemed  to  walk  beneath  an 
unclouded  sky.  Always  trusting,  always  hopeful, 
always  rejoicing,  always  ready  for  every  good  work 
— a  most  rare  instance  of  childlike,  progressive 
blessed  discipleship.  Her  bright  career  was  short. 
After  a  few  years  she  took  ill  and  died.  A  sharp 
conflict  with  the  great  adversary  befell  her  in  her 
last  days ;  but  she  came  up  from  that  valley  of  hu- 


A  Phai'isee  Changed.  209 

miliation  "more  than  conqueror  through  Him  that 
loved  us,"  and  she  felt  assured,  she  said,  Satan  would 
never  assail  her  any  more.  In  her  communion, 
which  was  singularly  close  and  elevated,  she  seemed 
to  speak  to  her  Lord  face  to  face.  Her  path  from 
first  to  last  was  indeed  as  the  shining  light,  that 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. 

"I  was  fairly  in  the  devil's  grip,"  said  a  working 
man,  in  his  homely,  graphic  way,  as  he  told  me  the 
story  of  the  Lord's  merciful  dealings  with  his  soul. 
"  But  Christ  cam'  to  me  when  I  was  little  expect- 
in'  Him,  an'  took  a  hand  o'  me.  Syne  the  deevil 
pulled  me  ae  way,  an'  Christ  He  pulled  the  ither 
way,  an'  I  had  a  sair  time  o't.  But  I  cam'  to  ken 
that  Christ  is  far  stronger  than  Satan,  an'  that  was 
weel  for  me."  I  was  witness  so  far  to  this  pulling, 
which  seemed  well-nigh  to  rend  the  poor  soul  in 
pieces.  It  was,  doubtless,  the  tug  of  war — Imman- 
uel  laying  siege  to  the  city  of  Mansoul. 

Let  a  different  sort  of  witness  speak — a  gentle- 
man of  the  most  accomplished  type.  "  Several  years 
ago  I  was,  I  regret  to  confess,  a  Pharisee  of  the 
Pharisees.  From  my  infancy  I  was  taught  to  re- 
spect religion,  and  despise  every  thing  vidgar  and 
coarse.  Accordingly  I  attended  the  house  of  God, 
maintained  a  fair  reputation,  fancied  I  was  a  good 
man,  and  had  the  best  chance  for  heaven.  Unex- 
pectedly God  opened  my  eyes.  This  he  did  by 
means  of  the  merest  trifle — a  petty  act  of  mean- 
ness done  to  a  friend,  which  somehow  took  posses- 
14 


210  A  Drimkard's  Conversion. 

sion  of  my  thoughts,  tormented  me,  put  me  off 
sleep,  and  led  me  to  look  deeper  into  my  heart  than 
I  had  ever  done.  Thus  I  was  led  to  discover  what  I 
had  never  really  seen  before — my  native  depravity, 
and  proud  hostility  to  God.  I  saw  that  my  own 
righteousness,  to  use  the  common  phrase,  was  only 
filthy  rags.  I  saw  that  my  very  religion  was  full 
of  sin,  and  that,  in  fact,  I  had  been  going  to  church 
and  to  the  Lord's  table  just  to  patronize  the  Al- 
mighty and  honor  myself  I  was  now  in  a  measure 
humbled,  and  was  not  ashamed  to  make  my  appear- 
ance at  the  revival  meetings,  where  fresh  light 
awaited  me.  You  know  the  rest.  I  became  indeed 
a  new  creature.  So  completely  was  my  mind  rev- 
olutionized, that  the  very  hymns  I  used  to  hate  as 
being  exaggerated,  Methodistic,  and  ranting,  now 
expressed  the  deepest  feelings  of  my  heart.  But 
the  change  was  more  than  one  of  mere  sentiment. 
Had  I  previously  died  I  should  certainly  have 
perished." 

"Sir,"  said  a  woman  to  me  one  day  whom  I  hap- 
pened to  meet,  "  I  am  happier  than  I  was  on  my 
marriage  day."  Some  time  previous  to  this  she  had 
been  brought  to  Christ  at  one  of  the  evangelistic 
meetings  when  Mr.  Matheson  was  assisting  us. 
Her  husband,  a  drunkard  and  scoffer,  was  maddened 
by  her  conversion,  and  gave  her  no  peace  night  or 
day.  Her  godly  ways  were  intolerable  to  him.  He 
beat  her  till  her  life  was  in  danger;  but  she  bore 
this  brutal  treatment  with  true  Christian  fortitude 


Robert  Ajinaii.  21 1 

and  meekness,  rendering  good  for  evil,  and  praying 
for  his  conversion  without  ceasing.  "  I  am  happier 
than  I  was  on  my  marriage  day.  God  has  heard 
my  prayer ;  my  poor  husband  is  converted.  He  is 
Hke  a  lamb,  and  thinks  he  cannot  do  enough  to 
please  me.  Oh,  sir,  if  you  had  but  seen  him  the 
other  night  holding  family  Avorship  for  the  first 
time!  It  was  like  heaven  upon  earth!  There 
wasn't  a  dry  eye  in  the  house ;  and  our  little  lassie 
looked  up  in  his  face  and  said,  'Father,  ye'll  win 
to  heaven  noo.  An'  I'll  gang  wi'  you;  an'  we'll  a' 
be  there.  I  never  thocht  I  wad  like  to  gang  to 
heaven  afore.' "  Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  seem  since 
that  day  to  have  rested  on  the  house. 

Yonder,  at  the  corner  of  Ann  Street,  early  on 
Sabbath  mornings,  you  can  see  a  fierce,  tiger-like 
young  man  going  about  among  the  loungers,  and 
begging  a  feAv  pence  to  procure  the  diamkard's  in- 
dispensable dram.  A  few  years  pass,  and  the  same 
young  man  is  seen  at  the  same  street  corner  at 
the  same  hour  on  Sabbath  mornings;  but  what  a 
change!  With  his  Bible  in  one  hand,  whilst  the 
other  is  stretched  out  towards  his  hearers,  he  be- 
seeches them  with  tears  to  beheve  on  that  Saviour 
who  has  delivered  his  soul  from  the  lowest  hell. 
The  preaching  may  be  poor  enough,  but  the  man 
himself  is  a  sign  and  a  wonder.  "I  knew  the  two 
Bobert  Annans,''  said  one  to  me;  "and  when  I  re- 
membered the  wild  profligate  begging  a  dram,  and 
saw  him  now  so  meek  and  Christian-like,  nothing 


212  Answer  to  Prayer. 

ever  impressed  me  so  much,  and  I  began  to  feel  for 
the  first  time  there  must  be  a  reahty  in  reKgion."  * 

There  were  many  striking  answers  to  prayer. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  I  may  here  give.  A 
young  woman  who  had  found  the  Saviour  at  one 
of  the  meetings  when  Mr.  Matheson  was  with  us, 
requested  special  prayer  one  night  on  behalf  of  her 
brother,  a  sailor,  who  had  not  been  heard  of  for  a 
long  while.  Prayer  was  offered  for  the  conversion 
of  the  wanderer.  Some  three  months  afterwards 
the  young  woman  appeared  at  a  meeting,  and  in- 
troduced her  brother  in  a  state  of  religious  concern. 
Strange  as  it  may  appear,  he  had  been  awakened 
at  sea  on  the  very  night  on  which  prayer  had  been 
offered  on  his  behalf  His  own  account  of  the  mat- 
ter was  this :  He  was  pacing  the  deck  in  the  still- 
ness of  the  night,  when  a  thought  about  his  soul 
took  hold  of  him,  and  the  more  he  strove  to  put 
it  away  from  him  the  worse  he  grew.  He  had 
no  peace  until  he  returned  home.  We,  of  course, 
preached  Christ  to  him.  Why  should  we  reckon 
such  things  incredibly  strange?  Does  not  our  Fa- 
ther in  heaven  answer  the  prayers  of  his  children 
every  day?  Has  he  promised,  and  will  he  not  per- 
form ?     Where  is  our  faith  ? 

In  many  ways  our  evangelist  rendered  important 
service  to  the  cause  and  Avork  of  God  in  this  town. 
When  the  movement  had  nearly  reached  its  limit, 

*  See  "The  Christian  Hero:  the  Life  of  Eobert  Amian." 
Same  aiithor. 


Night  of  Hinniliation  and  Prayer.        213 

and  it  seemed  as  if  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  being 
withdrawn,  Mr.  Matheson,  ever  fertile  in  resources, 
and  panting  after  greater  things,  suggested  that  a 
whole  night  should  be  set  apart  for  humiliation  and 
prayer.  With  his  wonted  energy  and  promptitude 
he  arranged  the  details,  and  cleared  the  obstacles 
away.  Accordingly  a  goodly  company  of  praying 
men  assembled  in  Euclid  Street  Chapel,  and  spent  \ 
the  night,  from  nine  or  ten  o'clock  till  six  next-^ 
morning,  in  intercession.  That  night  was  to  many 
present  one  of  the  most  memorable  seasons  of  their 
life.  The  sense  of  the  majesty  and  immediate  pres- 
ence of  Jehovah  rested  on  every  soul.  In  the  aw- 
ful stillness  of  the  night  watches  we  realized  eter- 
nity. The  fact  that  thousands  of  our  fellow-citizens 
were  sleeping  on  the  verge  of  hell  seized  our  minds 
with  overwhelming  vividness,  and  the  whole  com- 
pany were  bathed  in  tears.  0  Dundee!  Dundee! 
how  hast  thou  been  exalted  unto  heaven  in  the 
compassionate  cries  and  anguished  pleadings  of 
those  that  loved  thee  even  when  they  were  hated 
by  thee !  May  thy  repentance  turn  away  from  thee 
the  judgment  of  Capernaum !  That  night  of  prayer 
was  followed  by  most  striking  displays  of  saving 
power.  Instances  of  conversion  sufficient  to  fill  a 
volume  could  be  here  given ;  but  I  must  forbear. 

Of  the  converts,  some  are  now  in  the  ministry, 
some  are  missionaries,  evangelists.  Scripture-read- 
ers, elders,  deacons,  students.  Sabbath-school  teach- 
ers, and  district  visitors ;  while  a  still  greater  num- 


214  A  Field-day  of  the  Gospel. 

ber  are  embraced  in  tlie  less  known,  but  hardly  less 
useful,  rank  and  file  of  the  King's  army.  Some  of 
all  those  classes  were  converted  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Duncan  Matheson.  To  his  sword,  in- 
deed, which  seemed  seldom  to  return  empty,  ever 
fell  a  full  share  of  the  spoils  of  this  glorious  war. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE   DIOCESE   OF   OPEN   AIR. 

The  Huntly  meetings  played  an  important  part  in 
connection  with  the  work  of  grace  in  the  north  of 
Scotland.  They  had  their  origin  in  a  thought  of 
Duncan  Matheson's,  and  to  him  under  God  they 
owed  no  small  part  of  their  success.  One  day, 
pondering  the  best  means  of  promoting  the  good 
work,  the  thought  of  gathering  the  people  from  the 
surrounding  country  for  a  great  field-day  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  the  Castle  Park  flashed  across  his  mind.  After 
prayerful  consideration  of  the  scheme,  he  mentioned 
it  to  his  fellow-laborers,  Mr.  AA^illiamson  and  Mr. 
Bain,  as  they  were  all  three  returning  from  Cullen 
feeing  market,  where  they  had  been  preaching. 
They  resolved  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  Lord. 
There  and  then,  wearied  though  they  were,  they  be- 
took themselves  to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  as  the 
train  was  speeding  on  its  way,  they  cried  to  God  for 


I 


The  Duchess  of  Gordon.  215 

light  to  guide  tliem.  Light  was  not  withheld :  the 
scheme  was  settled  at  the  mercy-seat.  The  use  of 
the  Castle  Park,  with  suitable  aid  in  other  respects, 
was  freely  accorded  by  the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  and 
preparations  were  made,  the  burden  of  which  mainly 
rested  on  Mr.  Matheson  and  his  pastor.  The  labor 
thus  entailed  was  extremely  great,  and  our  evange- 
list was  Avell-nigh  crushed  beneath  the  load  of  re- 
sponsibility and  care.  After  a  sleepless  and  prayer- 
ful night  on  the  eve  of  the  Huntly  meetings,  he  said 
to  me,  "  I  feel  as  if  I  were  breaking  down.  I  have 
been  putting  up  blood,  and  feel  very  ill.  Sometimes 
Satan  tempts  me  to  take  it  easier,  and  do  less  for 
isouls :  he  whispers  when  I  am  speaking  in  the  open 
air,  '  You  had  better  take  it  easier,  or  you'll  burst  a 
blood-vessel.'  But  1  just  reply,  '  Never  mind  if  1  do ; 
I  could  not  die  in  a  better  cause.' " 

The  object  of  these  meetings  was  stated  in  a  print- 
ed request  for  special  prayer.  "We  do  not  believe," 
said  the  pastor  and  the  evangelist,  "  in  any  special 
virtue  in  meetings  in  the  open  air.  We  put  no  con- 
fidence in  any  peculiar  form  of  address,  neither  in 
any  instrument.  But  we  do  believe  in  the  power 
of  prayer :  we  believe  '  the  hour  is  coming  and  iixyw 
is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God;  and  they  that  hear  shall  live.'  We  believe  it 
a  good  thing  and  ground  of  hope  to  see  a  number 
of  the  Lord's  people  met  together  '  with  one  accord 
in  one  place.'  And  we  most  firmly  believe  that  the 
God  of  all  grace  may  be  expected  to  honor  such 


2i6  open-air  Meetings  at  Huntly. 

meetings  and  efforts,  when  preceded  and  accom- 
'  panied  by  earnest  and  united  prayer  for  the  out- 
pouring of  his  Spirit. 

"  We,  therefore,  most  earnestly  ask  secret,  social, 
.  and  united  prayer,  that  the  arm  of  the  Lord  may  be 
revealed ;  that  Jesus  may  be  lifted  up,  and  draw  all 
men  unto  Him ;  and  that  throughout  eternity  many 
may  have  cause  to  bless  God  that  they  were  present 
at  these  meetings  and  found  salvation." 

The  first  meetings  were  held  on  the  25th  and 
26th  July,  1860,  and  were  renewed  for  three  succes- 
sive summers.  Many  thousands  assembled  year  by 
year  in  the  Castle  Park,  with  its  hoary  ruins  tow- 
ering amid  the  softest  scenes  of  sylvan  beauty.  Here 
of  old  the  Gordon  clan  were  wont  to  gather  in  prep- 
aration for  some  distant  and  bloody  raid.  Now 
another  clan  assembles  for  very  different  ends.  The 
children  of  Zion  gather  themselves  together  to  meet 
their  King ;  the  soldiers  of  the  cross  rally  around  the 
standard  of  Christ.  The  coming  and  goin^  of  the 
people  to  serve  God  amidst  the  loveliest  retreats  of 
nature  reminded  one  of  the  conventicles  of  the  Cov- 
enanters in  some  remote  glen  or  dewy  hollow,  and 
of  the  still  more  memorable  scenes  when  multitudes 
gathered  round  the  Prince  of  open-air  preachers  by 
the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Here  nature  and 
grace  embrace  each  other  in  true  fellowship,  and 
the  works  of  God  throw  a  peculiar  charm  around 
his  word  and  worship.  The  lofty  canopy  of  heaven 
reminds  you  of  the  true  tabernacle  which  God  hath 


A   Suggestive  Scene.  217 

pitched,  and  not  man.  The  fair  landscapes  on  every 
side  picture  heavenly  things  to  the  sense,  and  shadow 
forth  in  natural  form  and  hue  the  invisible  glories  of 
the  spirit-world.  The  grassy  plains  suggest  the  green 
pastures  where  the  Good  Shepherd  feeds  his  flock, 
and  makes  them  rest  at  noon.  The  sighing  of  the 
wind  among  the  trees,  and  the  warbling  of  the  birds, 
seem  like  the  rustling  of  angels'  wings,  and  the  stir 
of  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  to  the 
heirs  of  salvation.  The  pure  air  comes  to  wearied 
pilgrims  like  deep,  refreshing  draughts  from  the 
Creator's  wine-cup.  The  sweet  sunshine  is  to  faith 
but  the  visible  radiance  of  the  Redeemer's  face ;  and 
the  alternations  of  light  and  shade  are  like  the  mys- 
terious comings  and  goings  of  our  God  in  his  sanc- 
tuary. The  very  sound  and  shock  of  the  falling  rain 
carry  into  the  believer's  heart  symboled  thoughts  of 
grace  far  more  true  to  nature  than  the  peal  of  organs 
or  the  swell  of  pompous  choirs.  Altogether  there  is 
a  naturalness,  a  simplicity,  and  a  freedom  more  akin 
to  the  spirit  and  privilege  of  new-covenant  service 
than  is  often  realized  in  those  dull  artificial  caverns 
in  which  custom  and  the  rigors  of  climate  compel 
us  to  worship.  Sitting  under  the  shadow  of  cum- 
brous roofs  and  dingy  walls,  and  too  oft  fettered  by 
form,  truth,  love,  joy,  and  praise,  pine  away  like 
caged  birds;  but  out  in  the  open,  unbounded  ex- 
panse, where  form  is  simplest  and  sense  is  purest, 
worship  is  the  more  free  and  unrestrained. 

It  was  pleasing  to  witness  the  assembling  of  the 


2i8  The  Assembly  in  the  Castle  Park. 

people  in  tlie  Castle  Park ;  old  and  young,  rich  and 
poor,  master  and  man  are  there.  Yonder  the  hon- 
est cotter,  with  his  wife  and  bairns  in  the  rude  cart 
consecrated  to  the  service  of  God,  it  may  be  for  the 
first  time,  jogs  cheerfully  along  not  far  behind  the 
gig  of  the  well-to-do  farmer,  whose  wife  and  daugh- 
ters are  looking  forward  to  the  ongoings  of  the  day 
with  deeper  and  stronger  feelings  than  any  they 
ever  felt  on  their  way  to  kirk  or  market.  Some 
are  trudging  on  foot,  and  all  are  talking  with  more 
or  less  personal  interest  in  the  great  event  of  the 
time — the  Eevival.  Listen  to  yon  knot  of  plough- 
men and  farm-lads.  One  wonders  "what  it's  gaun 
to  come  tae."  Another  "  kens  weel  aneuch  what  it's 
gaun  to  come  tae,  for  lie  has  fan't  in  his  ain  heart ; 
it  has  brocht  him  to  Christ,  an'  it'll  bring  him  to 
heaven."  A  third  admits  that  "a  wonderfu'  change 
has  come  o'er  Jake  Tamson ;  for  there  was  na  a  rocher 
chiel  in  a'  the  country  side,  an'  noo  he's  as  hairmless 
as  a  stirk,  an'  sings  an'  prays  inste.ad  o'  swearin'  an' 
fechtin'  as  he  used  to  do."  "Eh,  mon,"  says  a  half- 
grown  lad,  "gin  ye  only  heard  my  brither  Jock! 
he  prays  like  a  minister ;  in  fack,  his  prayer  is  ilka 
bit  as  gude  as  the  pairish  minister's  prayer  on  the 
Sacrament  Sunday." 

"Do  you  ever  take  God's  name  in  vain?"  asks  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  of  one  of  these  herd  laddies. 
"Na,  na,  sir;  God's  children  never  sweer." 
"You  are  one  of  his  children,  then?     When  did 
that  come  about?" 


Somg  of  the  Converts.  219 

"Weel,  sir,"  says  the  lad,  "it  was  at  the  IMerti- 
miss  term  last  year,  when  I  gaed  hame  to  see  my 
father's  fouk.  I  wonnert  when  I  saw  a'  things  sae 
sair  changed.  My  father  was  changed,  an'  the  hoose 
was  changed-like.  An'  my  father,  he  prayed  afore 
the  supper  an'  after  the  supper,  an'  he  never  used 
to  say  a  grace  at  a'.  An'  syne  he  said,  '  Fesh  ben 
the  buik ; '  an'  he  read,  an'  he  sang,  an'  s}T:ie  they  a' 
gaed  doon  upon  their  knees,  an'  I  never  saw  that 
afore.  An'  my  father  he  prayed,  an'  I  grat,  an'  we 
a'  grat,  an'  I  Avas  convertit  that  nicht.  That  was 
Mertimiss  last  year,  ye  ken,  an'  I  never  could  sweer 
sin'  syne." 

The  full  meaning  of  all  this  can  be  comprehended 
only  by  those  who  know  what  a  northern  bothy  used 
to  be.  There,  if  anywhere  on  earth,  Satan  was  wont 
to  have  his  seat;  now,  however,  to  some  extent  the 
"strong  man"  has  been  displaced  by  a  stronger  than 
he. 

The  greater  number  came  by  rail,  which,  in  this 
way  serving  God  as  well  as  man,  seemed  to  antici- 
pate the  day  when  "holiness  to  the  Lord"  shall  be 
upon  the  bells  of  the  horses,  and  doubtless  also  on 
the  whistles  of  the  engines.  In  one  carriage  prayer 
is  being  offered  for  a  special  blessing  on  the  meet- 
ings. In  another  the  Word  is  read  with  comments, 
homely  enough,  but  well  seasoned  with  a  devout 
spirit  and  a  gracious  experience.  In  a  third  a  dis- 
tressed soul  is  being  lovingly  dealt  with ;  difficulties 
are  cleared  away,  and  the  cross  lifted  up  before  the 


220  TJie   Voice  of  Song  on  the  Train. 

eye  of  the  afflicted  sinner.  High  over  all,  and  above 
even  the  din  of  the  train,  is  heard  the  voice  of  holy 
song.  One  group  is  singing  "Kock  of  Ages,  cleft 
for  me ; "  in  another  part  of  the  train  you  can  hear 
the  splendid  burst  of  the  ancient  church, 

"All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell, 
Sing  to  the  Lord  with  cheerful  voice." 

A  traveller  who  has  left  his  religion  at  home — per- 
haps because  it  was  scarcely  worth  the  carriage — 
is  to  be  pitied,  for  in  escaping  from  one  compartment 
to  another  he  finds  that  he  is  only  out  of  the  pan  and 
into  the  fire.  It  would  be  a  curious  turning  of  the 
tables  if  some  day  this  poor  foolish  Avorld  should  be 
so  filled  with  purity,  goodness,  and  the  love  of  God, 
that  the  few  remaining  sinners,  to  escape  the  gentle 
persecution  of  light  and  grace,  should  flee  for  refuge 
to  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.  Then,  indeed,  the 
church  would  be  "fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun, 
and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 

The  services  were  characterized  by  the  fervor  and 
simplicity  of  the  prayers,  the  heartiness  and  jubi- 
lance of  the  praises,  and  the  variety,  directness,  and 
power  of  the  addresses,  full  as  these  were  of  the 
richest  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  fragrant  with  the 
perfumes  of  tlie  one  great  Name.  In  love,  joy,  and 
unanimity,  the  believers  seemed  to  anticipate  the 
general  assembly  of  the  Church  of  the  first-born  in 
heaven,  and  the  triumj)hant  services  before  the 
throne.     On  the  other  hand,  the  deep  shadows  of 


I 


Testimony  of  an  Eye-witness.  221 

eternal  verities  seemed  to  rest  on  the  minds  of  the 
unconverted,  not  a  few  of  whom  found  Him  whom 
they  sought  after,  and  sometimes,  ere  the  tears  were 
dry  on  their  cheeks,  were  beginning  to  "rejoice 
with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory." 

The  testimony  of  an  eye-witness,  a  venerable  min- 
ister of  Christ,  may  be  here  given.  "  During  each 
day,"  he  writes,  "  numbers  Avere  personally  spoken 
with  and  sj^ecially  prayed  for,  in  every  stage  of  re- 
ligious concern.  Not  a  few  were  awakened  for  the 
first  time  during  the  time  of  the  meetings,  princi- 
pally by  witnessing  the  great  earnestness  manifested 
in  prayer  in  behalf  of  the  unconvert-ed,  as  well  as  by 
listening  to  the  pointed  and  soul-searching  appeals 
addressed  to  the  various  classes.  Others,  who  had 
previously  been  under  great  spiritual  distress,  had 
come  some  of  them  twenty  and  even  thirty  miles, 
as  well  as  lesser  distances,  seeking  relief  to  a  con- 
science ill  at  ease.  In  the  case  of  others  who  came 
under  our  notice,  former  convictions  that  had  well- 
nigh  died  out  were  revived  with  double  power. 
The  superficial  observer  could  form  no  correct  esti- 
mate of  the  amount  of  impression  by  merely  look- 
ing at  the  appearance  of  the  assembly;  for  there 
was  comparatively  little  manifestation  of  emotional 
excitement ;  nor  by  simply  looking  at  those  in  the 
tent  and  marquee,  who  professedly  took  their  place 
among  other  inquirers.  We  found  numbers  of  the 
most  interesting  cases  of  this  class  at  a  distance 
from  the  crowd,  either  holding  intercourse  with  God 


222  Interesting  Cases. 

alone,  and  breathing  into  his  ear  their  noiseless 
grief;  or  in  some  by-corner  holding  close  conversa- 
tion with  some  godly  friend  who  sympathized  with 
them ;  or  in  the  midst  of  little  groups  among  the 
trees,  where  spiritual  things  were  freely  talked  over 
by  those  with  open  Bibles  in  their  hand,  following 
up  conversation  with  prayer.  We  conversed  with 
several  persons,  some  of  them  considerably  advanced 
in  years,  upon  whose  minds  something  like  the  dark 
shadow  of  despair  had  been  brooding  for  months. 
They  could  distinctly  tell  what  was  the  matter  with 
them,  and  what  they  needed;  but  somehow  they 
stumbled  at  the  simplicity  of  entering  upon  the  way 
of  life  as  sketched  in  the  charter  of  human  salva- 
tion. Of  the  above-mentioned  cases  a  considerable 
number,  before  they  left  the  meetings,  were  enabled 
to  leave  their  sins  and  their  sorrows  within  the 
shadow  of  the  mercy-seat  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
and  went  home  in  possession  of  a  good  hope  through 
grace.  All  who  took  pains  to  make  themselves  ac- 
quainted with  what  we  have  stated  are  firmly  per- 
suaded, and  on  good  grounds,  that  in  connection 
with  these  meetings,  'to  Satan  many  captives  were 
lost,  and  to  Christ  many  subjects  were  born.'" 

The  meetings  were  held  for  two  successive  days 
every  summer,  from  1860  to  1863  inclusive.  Dun- 
can Matheson  was  the  presiding  genius  of  the  ar- 
rangements :  he  was  everywhere  and  in  every  thing. 
Here  speaking  to  an  afflicted  soul,  there  encourag- 
ing a  young  Christian ;  now  pouring  out  his  quaint, 


TJie  Bow  of  Promise.  223 

spirit-stirring  speech  amidst  a  group  of  youths, 
and  a  moment  after  gravely  settKng  some  deep  ex- 
perimental question  with  an  aged  pilgrim.  Almost 
at  the  same  point  of  time  he  is  providing  lodgings 
for  his  friends,  and  making  suggestions  of  the  most 
sagacious  character  as  to  the  programme  of  reli- 
gious services.  Now  he  is  leading  the  devotions  of 
the  great  assembly  in  his  own  impressive  and  Elijah- 
like manner,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes  he  is  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  crowd,  endeavoring  by  wise, 
kind  words  to  hush  some  rising  controversy.  At 
every  juncture  he  knows  what  to  do.  When  the 
people  were  hurr^dng  away  on  account  of  a  thun- 
der-storm, he  stopped  them  by  reminding  them  that 
the  Covenanters  could  stand  a  shower  of  bullets, 
and  that  God  can  stay  the  rain  in  answer  to  prayer. 
Prayer  was  offered,  and  the  rain  ceased.  " Look! " 
exclaimed  the  evangelist.  ' '  Behold  the  bow  of  prom- 
ise spanning  the  heavens!  emblem  of  God's  good- 
will to  earth."  All  eyes  were  turned  to  look  on  the 
rainbow,  "  like  unto  an  emerald  around  the  throne 
of  God."  Revealing  itself  just  as  the  thunder-torrent 
swept  over  the  horizon  of  the  distant  hill,  as  if 
chased  away  by  the  sudden  outburst  of  sunshine,  it 
symbolized  to  many  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ,  in  whose  cross  mercy  and  truth  are 
met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed 
each  other.  ]\Iany  who  have  forgotten  the  preach- 
ing, remember  the  lesson  of  the  evangelist,  who, 
with  hand  uplifted  to  heaven,  bade  the  vast  multi- 


224  Results  of  the  Work. 

tude  read  the  Gospel  in  the  sky,  and  see  the  beauty 
of  Jesus  in  the  bow  with  its  matchless  hues. 

It  was  a  good  work  to  bring  together  so  many 
thousands  of  Christians  to  sing  the  same  song,  to 
mingle  faith,  hope,  and  charity  in  the  same  prayer, 
and  to  encourage  one  another  in  the  common  Lord. 
It  was  the  gathering  of  all  the  live  coals  into  one 
great  fire,  whose  flames  were  bright  enough  to  illu- 
minate no  small  part  of  Scotland.  In  this  way  the 
evils  of  sectarianism  were  mitigated,  and  the  bonds 
of  Christian  brotherhood  strengthened.  Young  con- 
verts, suffering  from  isolation  and  the  lack  of  fellow- 
ship, were  refreshed  and  sent  on  their  way  rejoicing. 
The  poor  starved  sheep  of  Christ's  flock  were  fed  on 
green  pastures  and  strengthened  to  endure.  Perse- 
cuted believers,  reproached  by  friends,  scorned  by 
neighbors,  cast  off  by  companions,  and  frowned 
upon  by  carnal  pastors,  were  emboldened  to  fight 
the  good  fight  of  faith.  ]\Iany  who  were  halting 
between  two  opinions,  being  uncertain  as  to  the 
nature  and  tendencies  of  the  great  movement  of 
the  time,  had  their  doubts  and  fears  cleared  away. 
Many  earnest  and  faithful  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
went  home  from  those  happy  scenes  to  labor  in  their 
own  quiet  vineyards  with  a  still  holier  zeal,  live- 
lier hope,  and  deeper  joy.  Many  saints  returned 
to  walk  more  closely  with  their  God;  and  some 
whom  we  knew  received  at  the  Huntly  meetings 
a  double  meal,  like  Elijah  in  the  wilderness,  in  the 
strength  of  which  they  went,  and  came  even  to  the 


Double  Grace.  225 

momit  of  God.  To  many  it  was  the  starting-point 
of  their  pilgrimage  to  Zion,  and  the  sweet  memories 
of  those  gracious  espousals  and  first  loves  will  merit 
and  inspire  "nobler  songs  above."  In  short,  thou- 
sands live  to  praise  God  for  the  open-air  meetings 
in  the  Castle  Park,  and  similar  meetings  elsewhere, 
of  which  the  gathering  at  Huntly  was  at  once  the 
parent  and  the  broad,  distinct  pattern. 

Thus  the  little  germ  of  thought  arising  in  the 
mind  of  our  evangelist  bore  choicest  fruits  in  mar- 
vellous abundance.  It  was  part  of  the  arduous 
and  honorable  work  assigned  him  by  his  Master. 
A  double  grace  was  bestowed  upon  him  in  it — 
grace  to  do  the  work  faithfully  and  well,  and  the 
grace  of  abounding  success.  For  this  kind  of  work 
he  was  pre-eminently  well  qualified.  His  power- 
ful physique,  his  cheerful  countenance,  his  exultant 
voice,  his  overflowing  humor,  his  innocent,  and 
childlike  egotism  which  carried  in  it  something  of 
the  charm  of  genius,  his  practical  sagacity  and  swift 
decision,  his  fertility  of  resource  and  power  to  grasp 
a  multitude  of  details,  his  keen-eyed  intuition  of 
human  character,  his  ability  to  inspire  and  com- 
mand, his  invincible  ardor  in  the  presence  of  dif- 
ficulties, his  great  faith,  largeness  of  heart,  and 
Christian  self-sacrifice,  combined  to  fit  him  in  an 
extraordinary  degree  for  the  masterly  and  success- 
ful management  of  a  great  undertaking  such  as  this 
really  was.  There  were  many  witnesses  to  the  grace 
and  truth  of  Christ  at  the  Huntly  meetings,  minis- 
15 


226  Conference  on  the  Azvakcning. 

ters  of  every  name,  learned  professors,  eloquent  di- 
vines, lawyers,  physicians,  lords,  land-owners,  mer- 
chants, officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  many 
others  down  to  the  fisherman  and  the  butcher,  who 
said,  "I  canna  write  my  ain  name,  but  it  has  been 
written  by  the  finger  o'  Anither — written  in  blood 
in  the  Lamb's  book  o'  life,"  one  of  the  truest  and 
noblest  of  them  all  was  the  old  stone-cutter,  Dun- 
can Matheson.  His  it  was  not  merely  to  speak  for 
Christ,  but  to  gather  up  this  great  united  testimony, 
which  illustrated  the  unity  of  the  true  faith  as  it  has 
seldom  been  illustrated  in  our  own  day  or  in  our 
fathers.  His  it  was  to  concentrate  as  in  a  focus  the 
scattered  rays  of  the  glorious  sun  that  was  then 
pouring  his  golden  floods  upon  our  favored  land, 
alike  on  hill  and  dale,  on  barren  moorland  and  fruit- 
ful field. 

At  a  "conference  on  the  subject  of  the  present 
religious  awakening,"  held  in  the  Free  South  Church, 
Aberdeen,  on  August  15th,  1861,  we  find  our  evan- 
gelist saying:  "Revival  is  an  established  fact.  It  is 
a  great  fact.  Thousands,  many  thousands,  have  felt 
the  power  of  God  in  their  own  souls.  I  do  not,  per- 
haps, know  of  one  place  in  the  county  of  Aberdeen 
where  there  are  not  living  witnesses  to  the  power 
of  God's  grace  and  the  might  of  his  Spirit.  There 
is  one  thing  that  has  always  struck  me  with  won- 
der :  it  is  this — Why  should  we  think  it  a  strange 
thing  to  see  a  work  like  this  work  of  revival?  If 
we  believe  God's  Word  at  all,  we  must  believe  that 


Mr.  Mathesoii's  Address.  227 

He  is  able,  willing,  and  mighty  to  save.  Why  Avon- 
der,  then,  that  He  is  saving  so  many?  Might  we 
not  rather  expect  that  He  will  do  far  greater  things  ? 
A  man  said  to  me,  'Are  you  in  the  revival?'  'No, 
sir,'  1  replied,  'the  revival  is  in  me ;  it  is  in  my  heart.' 
I  believe  that  many  of  God's  people  feel  this.  We 
never  did  feel  so  much  joy,  and  blessedness,  and 
gladness,  as  since  these  blessed  days  when  the  Lord 
has  been  pouring  out  his  Spirit — planting  flowers 
in  his  garden  that  will  bloom  through  an  endless 
eternity.  I  could  hardly  tell  you  where  I  have  not 
seen  God's  work.  I  have  been  wandering  for  nearly 
four  years — north,  south,  east,  and  west — and  the 
Lord  is  doing  great  things  every^vhere.  We  see  the 
sheaves  being  gathered  to  God's  harvest-home ;  and 
what  can  we  do  but  say,  '  Our  God  reigns ;  verily 
we  have  seen  the  salvation  of  Israel ;  verily  we  have 
seen  answered  the  prayers  of  the  men  whose  blood 
was  shed  in  defence  of  our  faith — the  witnesses 
whose  souls  have  been  crying  under  the  altar.' 
And  we  have  only  seen  the  beginning ;  the  end  is 
at  hand.  Why,  I  ask  again,  should  this  be  thought 
a  strange  thing  ?  What  is  the  great  end  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry?  There  is  no  antagonism  between  us 
and  the  ministry ;  we  go  as  breakers-up  of  the  way 
and  God  has  been  pleased  to  own  us.  We  do  not 
interfere  in  the  least  with  the  constituted  ministry ; 
for  I  believe,  as  solemnly  as  I  do  in  any  part  of  God's 
Word,  that  He  has  appointed  a  ministry  for  the  con- 
version of  souls,  and  the  upbuilding  of  his  people ; 


228  Near  the  Gates  of  Heaven. 

and  the  cry  of  our  heart  day  by  day  is,  '  Oh,  would 
that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets ! '  We  look 
and  see  day  by  day  souls  going  down  to  perdition ; 
and  if  we  believe  in  a  heaven  and  hell,  in  an  unend- 
ing eternity,  Ave  will  go  forth  like  men  going  to  quell 
fire,  sa}dng,  'Stop,  poor  sinner!  come  with  us,  and 
we  will  do  thee  good ;  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good 
concerning  Israel. '  I  might  tell  in  this  meeting  what 
I  have  seen  in  many  places.    I  might  speak  of  what 

I  witnessed  in  S during  the  last  few  days ;  of  the 

awful  solemnity  upon  our  spirits,  when  it  seemed  as 
if  we  felt  the  immediate  power  of  God  in  our  hearts ; 
and  we  were  almost  afraid  to  speak,  as  if  one  felt 
very  near  the  gates  of  heaven.     Some  of  us  felt  so 

at  S .     And  when  we  saw  the  Lord  working 

and  the  slain  so  many,  we  lifted  up  our  hearts  and 
sang,  "Hallelujah!  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth.' 

"One  thing  I  have  seen,  and  I  have  thanked  the 
Lord  for  it ;  it  has  done  immense  good ;  it  is  the  de- 
liverance of  the  last  Free  General  Assembly  on  this 
great  and  glorious  work.  The  results  from  that  de- 
liverance, the  good  it  has  done,  we  cannot  estimate. 
I  have  seen  members  of  the  Free  Church  lifted  up 
in  their  souls,  and  thanking  God  for  that  noble  tes- 
timony. Since  it  was  issued  it  has  given  a  great 
impetus  to  the  work.  It  has  been  true,  and  always 
will  be  true  to  the  end,  '  Them  that  honor  Me  I  will 
honor.'  I  have  seen  the  objections  of  many  scat- 
tered to  the  winds  since  it  was  given.     And  since 


Mr.    Turner,  of  Peterhead.  229 

it  was  read  from  the  pulpits  of  tlie  cliiirclies,  I  have 
seen  a  manifest  blessing  upon  the  ministry  and  the 
people.  Let  me  remark  this  other  thing — that  some 
people  always  find  fault.  Well,  we  cannot  help  it; 
and  we  admit  that  there  are  very  many  things  that . 
we  ourselves  cannot  prevent,  that  yet  we  do  not  de- 
sire. A  great  many  things  have  been  said  about 
inquiry  meetings.  I  look  upon  these  as  the  most 
solemn  part  of  the  work — -just  dealing  with  souls  face 
to  face.  It  is  of  great  importance  that  all  who  thus 
speak  to  the  anxious  should  be  known — that  their  \^ 
real  state  and  character  before  God  should  be  tested. 
We  should  know  also  that  they  have  something  of 
that  wisdom  that  cometh  down  from  above.  I  be- 
lieve there  are  many  of  God's  people  Avho  fail  in  this 
work.  I  have  seen  them  giving  the  comforts  of 
God's  children  to  the  anxious.  I  have  heard  godly 
persons  sa;y^ng  to  such,  'Wait  God's  time ; '  and,  'You 
are  in  a  very  hopeful  state,' just  strangling  their  con- 
victions. Oh,  if  there  is  one  part  of  the  work  in 
which  we  need  more  than  in  another  the  aid  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  it  is  in  dealing  with  anxious  souls. 

"  Mr.  Eoss  has  spoken  about  the  coast.  I  know  a 
great  deal  about  the  coast,  and  upon  this  coast  no 
one  has  been  more  honored  than  Mr.  Turner,  of 
Peterhead.  That  man's  footsteps,  speaking  after  the 
manner  of  men,  I  have  been  able  to  trace  all  romid 
the  coast.  Look  at  Banff — what  a  work  he  has  done 
there ;  and  at  Portknockie,  Buckie,  Portgordon.  You 
see  the  Lord  taking  that  instrument  and  using  him ; 


230  Sound  Teaching. 

he  was  used  for  a  time,  and  then  put  aside.  It  is  a 
solemn  thing  when  God  uses  a  man  for  a  time,  and 
then  puts  liim  aside.  It  is  not  the  opposition  of  man 
we  fear.  I  was  never  able  to  do  any  thing  till  I  was 
opposed,  and  so  it  has  been  with  others.  I  would 
remark,  in  closing,  that  I  have  always  seen  the  work 
produce  greatest  fruits  under  the  soundest  teaching. 
An  old  Highland  minister  said,  'It  is  a  dangerous 
thing  for  a  child  to  get  bad  milk ; '  and  you  gener- 
ally see  where  there  is  not  sound  teaching  they  are 
like  the  young  thrushes,  ready  to  eat  mud  if  given 
to  them.  They  have  no  discernment.  But  where 
there  is  sound  teaching  they  grow  up  like  calves  in 
the  stall;  the  grace  of  God  is  in  them,  and  we  see  it 
shining.  There  is  just  this  in  it — the  good  old  doc- 
/  trines  will  stand  the  test,  for  they  are  built  upon  the 
/  Kock  of  Ages.  Oh,  may  we  hold  them  fast;  and 
when  we  depart  hence,  leave  behind  us  'footprints 
on  the  sands  of  time,'  or,  rather,  on  the  shores  of 
eternity." 

Not  content  with  scouring  his  native  country,  he 
sometimes  crossed  the  border,  and  everywhere  the 
strong  voice  and  steady  hand  w^ere  raised  to  point 
men  to  the  cross.  In  the  autumn  of  1862  he  visited 
his  old  friends,  the  soldiers,  at  Aldershot,  and  de- 
scribed his  visit  in  the  following  letter,  which  ap- 
peared in  Tlie  Revival :  * 

"My  Dear  Friend:  Swiftly  has  the  time  passed 

*  A  weekly  periodical  now  incorporated  with  "  The.  Christian." 


His  Visit  to  Aldei'shot.  231 

since  I  came  here,  and  never  throughout  eternity- 
shall  I  forget  my  visit  to  this  place.  There  is  not 
a  spot  in  Britain  around  which  such  interest  clings, 
and  for  which  more  prayer  has  been  offered  up. 

"  My  heart  thrilled  as  I  saw  a  camp  once  more, 
heard  the  strains  of  martial  music,  and  gazed  on  the 
red  coats,  either  singly,  or  in  groups,  or  regiments 
marching  along.  The  past  was  brought  vividly  be- 
fore me,  but  the  contrast  could  hardly  be  realized. 
In  the  Crimea,  day  and  night,  nothing  was  heard 
but  the  roar  of  the  cannon,  or  the  din  of  battle ;  and 
during  a  long  dreary  winter,  nothing  seen  but  mis- 
ery, that  made  the  heart  bleed,  borne  with  calm  en- 
durance and  heroic  valor,  giving  English  history 
a  page  it  never  had.  It  is  true  that  at  Aldershot 
the  bugle  sounds,  but  it  calls  only  to  parade,  or 
to  take  part  in  mimic  fights.  Kegiments  march, 
biit  not  to  battle.  The  gun  fires,  but  only  to  mark 
the  hours  as  they  pass  along.  The  scene  is  bust- 
ling but  peaceful,  and  order  reigns  in  the  camp 
supreme. 

"  I  have  met  few  old  friends,  for  death  has  done 
his  work,  and  the  heroes  of  Alma,  Inkermann,  Se- 
bastopol,  have  passed  away — yes,  away  like  the 
snow-flakes  before  the  summer's  sun,  or  the  leaves 
of  the  forest  before  the  wintry  blast.  In  the  lone 
graveyard  here,  on  the  bleak  moor  side,  lie  many 
who  escaped  unscathed  amidst  the  iron  showers  and 
the  deadly  pestilence.  With  constitutions  impaired, 
they  returned  to  die,  leaving  as  an  heir-loom  in  many 


232  Description  of  the  Work   There. 

a  home  the  medal  and  its  bars  of  glory,  worn  but 
for  a  little,  and  then  laid  aside  forever.  Sic  transit 
gloria  mundi. 

"It  is  estimated  that  during  the  summer  from 
15,000  to  18,000  men  are  stationed  here,  and  the  in- 
fluence of  such  a  mass  on  the  town  of  Alder  shot  is 
of  the  most  ruinous  kind.  Much  has  been  written 
about  it,  and  yet  it  is  impossible  to  make  the  pic- 
ture too  dark,  or  to  bring  out  in  relief  its  degrading 
aspects.  Just  think  of  upwards  of  seventy  public- 
houses  outside  the  camp,  and  you  will  realize  in 
some  measure  the  seething  mass  of  iniquity  behind. 
The  camp  has  made  the  town  what  it  is,  and  the 
town  sends  back  to  the  camp  the  curse  intensified 
it  has  given.  Many  a  daughter  comes  here  to  die, 
over  whom  a  mother,  it  may  be  in  the  far  north  of 
Scotland,  is  weeping  day  and  night.  One  was  asked 
lately  if  she  had  a  mother ;  and,  as  if  stung  by  a 
serpent,  she  fled  out  of  sight.  Another  says  she 
is  dying  fast,  but  asks  what  she  can  do.  A  third 
laughs ;  but  it  is  hollow,  coming  from  a  heart  torn 
with  anguish,  from  burning  fires  within,  fed  by  the 
memory  of  home  and  days  gone — never  more  to 
come  back  again. 

"Blessed  be  God,  all  is  not  dark.  The  cloud  has 
a  silver  lining !  There  is  much  to  quicken  and  cheer ; 
for  the  great  God  is  visiting  the  camp,  and  drops  of 
blessing  have  descended.  Witness  after  witness  is 
being  raised,  and  the  prayers,  so  long  lying  on  the 
altar,  are  being  answered.     Hardly  a  week  passes 


Mi's.  Daniell.  233 

but  there  is  an  accession  to  the  Kttle  army,  and 
twelve  prayer-meetings  are  held  weekly  by  the  men 
themselves.  At  some  of  these  I  have  seen  sixty  men 
and  a  few  officers  present.  What  songs  from  yom-s 
'Hymns  of  Prayer  and  Praise'  they  sang!  With 
what  a  heart  did  they  peal  out  'Eest  for  the  weary,' 
and  with  what  holy  pleading  did  they  cry  for  their 
comrades  diifting  to  perdition !  The  leaven  is  work- 
ing ;  the  seed  is  springing  up ;  and  many  are  halting 
— lingering  at  the  gate. 

"Mrs.  Daniell,  so  well  known  for  her  labors  in  the 
cause  of  Christ,  has  founded  a  mission  for  Aldershot, 
and  forty  officers  and  men  have  come  forward  as 
volunteers  to  help  her  on.  The  United  Presbyterian 
Church  is  organizing  a  congregation,  and  will,  I 
doubt  not,  succeed.  May  God  speed  them,  and 
may  their  chiu^ch  be  the  birth-place  of  many  a  soul. 
May  He  also  bless  the  labors  of  the  chaplains  and 
Scripture-readers,  whose  work  is  so  arduous,  and  who 
need  more  than  common  wisdom  and  zeal.  Night 
after  night  I  preached  outside  the  camjD  in  the  open 
air,  with  a  body-guard  of  Christian  soldiers  around 
me,  some  of  w^hom,  with  much  feeling,  have  ad- 
dressed their  comrades  passing  by. 

"  What  noble  missionaries  these  soldiers,  if  con- 
verted, would  make !  How  would  their  influence 
tell  amongst  the  heathen  abroad!  What  a  sight 
to  see  Britain  sending  forth  an  army  of  living  men 
displa}Hng  a  banner  for  the  truth ! 

"  I  feel  assured  there  is  many  a  Hedley  Vicars, 


234     R^v.  H.    M.  Williams 07t's  Recollections 

Hammond,  Vandeleur,  Marjouram  amongst  them, 
and  that  God,  by  His  Spirit,  will  soon  bring  them 
out.  Aldershot  is  the  cradle  of  the  British  army.  The 
fire  here  is  kindled.  The  work  has  begun.  The 
Prince  of  Peace  is  saving  souls,  and  God  is  calling 
on  his  people  to  bestir  themselves.  England,  Scot- 
land, Ireland,  your  sons  need  help.  Will  you  cry 
for  the  army,  and  forget  not  Aldershot  ? 

"  Yours  in  the  Lord, 

"  Duncan  Matheson, 
"  Late  Soldiers'  Missionary  in  the  Crimea." 

The  Eev.  H.  M.  Williamson,  Belfast,  who  was  at 
once  the  pastor  and  fellow-evangelist  of  Mr.  Mathe- 
son, writes: 

"  Confining  myself  to  what  I  have  witnessed,  I 
would  like  to  give  you  a  brief  sketch  of  his  labors 
in  the  north  of  Scotland.  He  used  to  map  out  a  dis- 
trict, and  arrange  for  an  evangelistic  tour,  extending 
over  six  or  eight  days.  I  frequently  accompanied 
him  on  such  expeditions.  Starting  perhaps  on  a 
Monday,  we  were  accustomed  to  preach  generally 
twice  each  day,  holding  meetings  in  all  conceivable 
places — in  barns,  on  the  squares  and  streets  of  vil- 
lages, under  the  trees  of  the  woods,  sometimes  in 
various  churches  placed  at  our  disposal.  He  thor- 
oughly knew  the  feelings,  habits,  and  prejudices  of 
his  countrymen,  and  with  singular  sagacity  he  em- 
ployed that  knowledge  to  gain  the  attention  of  his 
hearers  and  a  favorable  hearing  for  the  Gospel.     He 


of  Work  witJi  Mr.  Matheson.  235 

was  never  at  a  loss,  and  full  of  hope ;  he  had  a  rem- 
edy for  every  difficulty,  and  was  ready  for  every 
emergency.  Let  me  give  you  as  an  illustration  a 
scene  which  occurred  on  one  of  our  preaching  ex- 
peditions. We  had  arranged  to  hold  a  meeting  in 
the  streets  of  a  certain  village.  The  place  was 
drowned  in  drink,  and  consequently  spiritually  dead 
above  most  places.  At  the  appointed  hour  we  made 
our  appearance,  and  having  made  our  way  to  the 
square  of  the  village,  and  having  borrowed  a  chair 
for  a  pulpit,  we  were  prepared  to  proceed;  but 
audience  there  was  none,  save  two  or  three  ragged 
children,  who  gathered  round  and  stared  at  us  as  a 
curiosity.  It  was  certainly  a  situation  exceedingly 
trying  to  flesh  and  blood,  and  one  that  gave  ample 
room  for  the  exercise  of  faith.  Matheson  by  the 
grace  of  God,  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  I  think  I 
hear  his  cheery  Avords,  as  he  said  to  me,  speaking 
in  his  broadest  Doric,  'Haud  on,  baud  on,  Mr.  Wil- 
liamson, for  a  wee  bit  as  weel  as  ye  can,  an'  I'll  fetch 
out  the  folk  wi'  the  help  o'  God.'  He  started  off, 
leaving  me  on  the  chair — no  envied  position,  I  assure 
you — with  the  children  for  my  audience.  He  started 
off,  and  beginning  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  village, 
he  knocked  at  every  door,  and  cried  aloud  as  he  could 
cry,  'Come  awa'  out,  come  awa'  out;  the  Gospel  is 
come  to  the  town ; '  and  using  at  the  same  time,  with 
his  usual  sagacity,  the  children  he  met  as  his  agents, 
he  said,  '  Kin,  laddie  rin ;  and  tell  yer  mither  to  come 
aw  a'  to  the  square,  and  hear  the  preaching.'   We  had 


236  Remarkable  Incidents. 

a  meeting — a  successful  meeting — Ave  adjourned  in 
the  evening  to  a  church  in  the  village;  and  I  have 
good  reason  to  believe  that  redeemed  souls  in  eter- 
nity will  bless  God  for  that  meeting. 

"There  are  few  parishes  in  Aberdeenshire  and 
Banffshire  in  which  the  name  of  Duncan  Matheson 
is  not  known  and  loved,  and  very  few  in  which  he 
has  not  preached  the  Gospel.  The  extent  of  the 
blessing  which  rested  upon  his  labors  shall  only  be 
known  on  that  day  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts 
are  made  manifest.  I  regret  exceedingly  that  the 
account  of  all  these  labors  is  now  lost  forever. 
Had  he  been  spared  to  give  it,  it  Avould  have  been 
a  record  of  the  Lord's  doings  of  thrilling  interest, 
and  well  fitted  to  strengthen  every  laborer  in  the 
Lord's  vineyard.  Many  incidents  attending  his 
work  were  of  a  very  remarkable  nature,  and  if  they 
had  been  recorded  would  have  been  pregnant  with 
instruction  and  encouragement.  I  remember  while 
holding  a  meeting  one  night  in  a  certain  place  an 
occurrence  which  made  a  deep  impression  upon  me 
at  the  time,  and  which  I  had  occasion  to  mark 
afterwards.  The  meeting  was  crowded,  and  better 
still,  it  Avas  full  of  spiritual  poAver.  Many  souls  were 
deeply  wounded  under  tlie  sharp  strokes  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Some  smitten  ones  Avere  crying  out,  '  What 
must  we  do  to  be  saved  ? ' 

"  While  we  were  going  about  among  the  anxious, 
seeking  as  we  were  enabled  to  point  them  to  the 
Lamb  of  God,  the  individual  Avho  had  control  over 


Conference  at  Hnntly  Lodge.  237 

the  place  of  meeting  began  to  urge  the  people  to  go 
home,  and  to  crown  his  advice  he  proceeded  to  pnt 
out  the  lights.  I  think  I  hear  Matheson  as  turning 
to  me  he  said,  'Mr.  Williamson,  mark  my  words, 
you  will  see  something  happen  to  that  man — the 
Lord  will  put  out  his  candle ! '  Matheson,  though 
pretending  to  no  spirit  of  prophecy,  knew  how  dan- 
gerous it  is  to  meddle  with  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  And  so  it  came  to  pass.  Matheson  lived 
to  see  that  man  disgraced  and  dishonored,  and 
driven  from  his  position.  But  if  I  persevere  in  call- 
ing up  the  events  of  these  years  of  blessing  my  let- 
ter will  swell  into  a  volume. 

"The  great  gatherings  for  Christian  fellowship 
and  for  preaching  the  everlasting  Gospel  with  which 
Scotland,  and  especially  in  the  northern  parts,  was 
favored  in  past  years  are  closely  connected  with 
Duncan  Matheson. 

"  Shortly  after  the  work  of  the  Spirit  began  to  be 
manifest  in  the  awakening  and  conversion  of  sin- 
ners in  Aberdeenshire  in  the  years  1858-9,  a  confer- 
ence of  ministers  was  held  at  Huntly  Lodge,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  late  Duchess  of  Gordon.  That 
conference  brought  out  the  fact,  that  the  work  of 
God  was  much  more  extensive  and  thorough  than 
any  one  had  supposed.  The  work  still  made  prog- 
ress under  opposition  of  various  kinds  and  from  all 
sources.  Matheson  traversed  almost  every  parish  of 
Aberdeenshire  and  the  district  around,  everywhere 
preaching  the  Gospel,  and  much  blessing  was  added. 


238  The  Gathering  at  H^intly 

"  Keturning  from  one  of  these  preaching  expedi- 
tions, he  proposed  to  me  the  idea  of  a  grand  gath- 
ering at  Huntly,  seeking  the  aid  of  men  of  all 
churches,  both  lay  and  clerical,  whom  God  had 
honored  in  the  work  of  revival.  The  proposal  took 
shape.  It  was  approved  of  by  the  Duchess  of  Gor- 
don, and  by  others  whose  good  judgment,  spirit- 
uality of  mind,  and  zeal  for  the  cause  of  God  we 
could  trust.  The  whole  arrangements  of  the  meet- 
ings were  put  into  Matheson's  hands,  and  the  re- 
sults were  great  and  blessed.  Multitudes  of  believ- 
ers from  every  corner  of  the  land  were  refreshed 
and  strengthened,  and  multitudes  of  the  unsaved 
brought  to  Jesus. 

"He  had  a  singular  gift  for  organizing  such 
meetings.  He  thoroughly  knew  the  people,  as  I 
have  stated, — their  mode  of  life,  their  habits,  their 
prejudices  on  religious  subjects,  their  wants,  and 
then*  religious  position.  And  with  all  this  knowl- 
edge, when  the  meetings  were  assembled,  he  ar- 
ranged accordingly  with  wonderful  tact — he  put 
the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  He  aimed  at  the 
conversion  of  sinners  as  the  great  end  of  the  meet- 
ings, and  in  carrying  out  this  end  he  exhibited 
marvellous  spiritual  instinct  in  selecting  the  right 
speaker  at  the  right  time  to  give,  under  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  message  which  would  bring  about  the 
blessed  end.  He  knew  too  the  men  that  were 
mighty  in  prayer,  and  endeavored  to  keep  them, 
with  praying  companions,  lifting  up  holy  hands 


Proposed  and  Organized.  239 

without  wrath  and  doubting.  And  in  this  matter 
he  suffered  no  respect  for  persons  to  -interfere.  The 
men  he  beheved  were  hkely  to  be  the  instruments 
in  the  hands  of  the  Spirit  to  do  the  work  needed  at 
any  particular  time  in  the  services,  these  he  brought 
forward. 

"You  and  I  have  seen,  in  other  cases  and  at  sim- 
ilar gatherings,  the  whole  work  marred,  and  the 
fruit  almost  completely  lost,  because  those  who  con- 
ducted such  meetings  deemed  themselves  bound  to 
put  forward  speakers  in  a  prescribed  order,  because 
of  their  social  position  or  ministerial  standing  in 
church  connection. 

"Matheson  never  for  a  moment  allowed  such 
considerations  to  influence  him.  The  result  corre- 
sponded. As  he  sought  to  honor  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  keep  a  single  eye  on  the  great  end,  the  salva- 
tion of  souls,  much  fruit  appeared. 

"  His  efforts  in  preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  feeing 
markets  of  Aberdeenshire  were  also  attended  with 
a  very  abundant  blessing.  It  is  a  question  upon 
which,  perhaps.  Christian  men  form  different  opin- 
ions. I  think  it  admits  of  no  controversy  with  all 
who  are  taught  of  God,  that  whenever  men  are 
willing  to  hear  the  Gospel,  then  the  Gospel  should 
be  preached  to  them.  Now,  it  is  also  a  fact  beyond 
dispute,  that  for  some  years  the  Lord  poured  such 
a  spirit  of  hearing  upon  the  people  that  they  were 
willing  to  hear ;  and  this  also  I  may  add,  I  have  seen 
as  marked  and  manifest  fruits  of  the  Spirit's  presence 


240  The  Scattered  Laborers. 

and  power  attending  these  market-preacliings  as  I 
have  ever  witnessed  on  the  Sabbath  and  in  the  most 
solemn  assembly.  This  market-preaching  was  a  de- 
partment of  labor  for  which  Matheson  was  in  many 
ways  singularly  fitted.  Ready  for  every  emergency, 
and  with  a  tact  which  usually  disarmed  opposition, 
with  a  courage  that  never  faltered,  and  with  a  voice 
like  the  tongue  of  a  trumpet,  he  labored  in  this  field 
most  laboriously,  and  in  it  I  feel  persuaded  reaped 
many  sheaves  of  the  harvest  of  the  Lord.  I  have 
met  many  in  later  years  who  have  testified  that 
they  would  have  cause  to  bless  God  forever  for 
these  market-preachings. 

"  Alas,  the  band  of  laborers  in  that  field  are  now 
widely  scattered  !  What  sweet  and  solemn  memo- 
ries of  these  days  and  of  the  beloved  fellow-laborers 
who  wrought  in  this  work  with  us !  The  saintly 
Macgregor  and  the  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ, 
Colonel  Ramsey  and  Major  Gibson,  and  the  fearless 
Matheson — a  prince  of  evangelists — all  gone  to  their 
rest  and  their  reward.  The  devoted  pastors.  Bain 
and  Forbes,  and  Fullarton  and  Campbell  (tried  and 
true  helpers),  Tytler,  and  Macpherson,  and  Anderson 
still  with  us,  and  many  other  beloved  brethren  who 
have  never  been  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

"  But  this  letter  is  drawn  out  far  beyond  what  I 
intended,  and  yet  I  feel  as  if  I  had  said  almost  noth- 
ing concerning  the  labors  of  our  departed  friend. 
Let  me  add,  he  was  one  of  the  most  unselfish  of 
men ;  he  would  and  often  did  share  his  last  shilling 


The  Gospel  at   Village  Fairs.  241 

with  a  poor  saint.  He  was  ever  ready  to  commend 
the  Gospel  to  the  careless  and  the  scoffer  by  deeds 
of  generosity  and  liberality.  What  the  Church  owes 
to  Matheson  has  never  been  acknowledged.  His 
share  in  elevating  the  standard  of  religious  profes- 
sion in  the  land,  and  especially  in  the  northern  part, 
has  never  been  justly  estimated.  But  his  reward  is 
on  high.  'They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness  as  the   stars   forever   and 


An  important  part  of  our  evangelist's  mission  was 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  village  fairs.  The  fee- 
ing market,  at  which  farmers  engage  their  servants 
from  one  half  year  to  another,  is  a  long-established 
institution  in  the  northern  counties  of  Scotland.  It 
is  usually  held  in  the  street  or  neighborhood  of  some 
little  town  or  village.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the 
market-day  there  is  a  wonderful  stir  in  the  erection 
of  refreshment-tents,  booths  for  the  sale  of  sweets, 
trinkets,  and  all  things  dear  to  a  ploughboy's  heart, 
shows,  and  all  the  other  paraphernalia  of  a  village 
fair.  Soon  after  breakfast  the  market  is  crowded 
by  farmers  and  their  wives,  ploughmen,  female  ser- 
vants, and  all  who  have  business  to  do.  Besides 
these  there  is  a  general  assembly  of  all  the  idlers 
and  neer-do-iveels  in  the  country-side ;  tramps,  tink- 
ers, ballad-singers,  fiddlers,  rogues,  beggar-women 
with  starving  babies,  the  man  who  is  "  out  of  employ- 
iG 


242  Descriptio7i  of  the  Fair. 

ment"  because  he  will  not  work,  the  shipwrecked 
sailor  who  never  was  at  sea,  the  veteran  soldier 
who  has  seen  no  service  but  the  devil's — in  short 
all  the  scoundrels  within  a  radius  of  thirty  miles. 

No  time  is  lost ;  the  whole  machinery  of  the  mar- 
ket is  set  a-going.  All  the  animal  spirits  of  half-a- 
score  parishes  and  callages  are  now  crowded  into  one 
place.  There  is  no  restraint ;  universal  freedom  reigns. 
Wild  hilarity,  roaring  frankness,  outrageous  demon- 
strations of  friendship,  characterize  the  scene,  and  a 
tumult  of  varied  sounds  fills  the  air.  Underneath  all 
this,  however,  there  is  an  eye  to  business.  Yonder 
in  the  open  air,  at  the  end  of  a  tent,  a  fat,  red-faced 
dame  is  piling  up  a  blazing  fire  of  peat,  over  which 
a  huge  pot  is  boiling  Avith  the  farmers'  broth.  Close 
by  a  master  is  higgling  with  a  ploughman  about  five 
shillings  more  or  less  of  half-yearly  wages ;  and  the 
bargain,  after  an  immense  deal  of  manoeuvring  as  if 
both  were  perfectly  indifferent  to  the  matter,  is  set- 
tled in  the  good  old  Scotch  way  of  "splitting  the  dif- 
ference." Then  follows  the  indispensable  dram.  A 
young  swain  has  just  spent  his  "arles"  in  treating 
his  sweetheart  with  rude  demonstrations  of  atta  ch- 
ment.  Another,  already  drunk,  is  dancing  and  caper- 
ing to  the  wretched  strains  of  a  fiddle.  Sailor  Jack 
moves  along  with  a  curious  limp  as  he  sings  his 
favorite  ditty.  The  showman  is  doing  his  best  to 
entertain  the  people  and  obtain  their  pence.  Cheap 
John,  with  incredible  generosity,  insists  on  enriching 
the  public  to  his  own  certain  ruin,  mixing  his  jokes 


Di'Mikcnncss  and  Rioting.  243 

and  lies  in  due  measures  to  meet  the  tastes  of  the 
gulHble  portion  of  market-goers.  A  recruiting  ser- 
geant is  describing  to  a  knot  of  young  men  the  glory 
and  blessedness  of  a  soldier's  life.  On  the  outskirts 
of  the  fair  a  crew  of  drunken  carters  are  bargaining 
with  an  unscrupulous  horse-dealer  for  an  old  nag, 
which  is  being  trotted  up  and  down  at  the  utmost 
speed  possible  to  his  wooden  limbs.  A  tall,  villainous, 
one-legged  speculator  in  human  simplicity  tempts 
to  a  game  of  chance,  which  is  yet  no  chance  to  him- 
self; whilst  his  one-armed  brother  offers  to  teach  the 
young  idea  how  to  shoot  by  means  of  bow  and  arrows 
which  Tell  himself  could  not  have  shot  straight.  A 
hundi'ed  voices  are  crying  then  wares.  As  the  day 
advances  men  and  matters  become  more  and  more 
lively.  Suddenly  the  crowd  begins  to  surge  to  and 
fro,  everybody  knocking  into  his  neighbor,  no  one 
knowing  why.  There  is  a  fight;  strong  drink  is 
master  of  the  situation.  A  score  of  voices  are  raised 
with  a  score  of  hands;  hard  blows  are  dealt;  but 
the  greatest  sufferer  is  the  poor  old  woman  whose 
"sweetie  stand"  is  overturned  in  the  scuffle,  all  her 
gingerbread  cakes  and  colored  sweets  are  scattered 
in  the  mud.  The  same  commander-in-chief  is  mar- 
shalling his  hosts  in  a  neighboring  tent,  where  a 
fierce  conflict  rages  around  the  rude  board.  You 
can  see  the  whole  afiair  from  without  by  the  mov- 
ing of  hostile  heads  and  arms  against  the  canvas, 
which  at  length  gives  way,  and  the  entire  taber- 
nacle of  Satan,  with  a  loud  crash  of  bottles  and 


244  Difficulty  of  the   Work. 

glasses,  rolls  over  upon  the  ground.  Still  the  busi- 
ness of  the  fair  goes  on  as  before,  its  very  life  being 
in  noise,  excitement,  and  uproar.  Towards  evening 
'the  more  respectable  people  take  their  way  home- 
wards, carrying  with  them  all  sorts  of  useful  house- 
ihold  articles  purchased  at  the  fair.  Among  the  re- 
maining portion  the  drinking  and  quarrelling  go  on 
apace ;  coarseness,  profanity,  and  violence  increase, 
till  at  length  the  deepening  shades,  not  a  moment 
too  soon,  cast  the  mantle  of  God  over  a  very  hell  of 
riot,  charged  witli  all  the  elements  of  misery  and 
ruin. 

It  was  a  bold  idea  to  introduce  the  Gospel  here. 
It  was  like  David's  attempt  to  save  the  lamb  by 
attacking  the  lion  and  the  bear.  For  men  of  fine 
feelings  to  stand  upon  a  box  or  barrel,  occupying 
as  it  were  the  same  platform  with  all  that  is  coarse, 
sordid,  and  villainous,  and  amidst  the  bawling,  the 
laughing,  the  blaspheming,  the  singing,  the  fiddling, 
the  fighting,  the  ribaldry  of  mockers,  the  rage  of 
the  ungodly,  and  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  black- 
guardism, to  raise  the  "still  small  voice  "of  the  Gos- 
pel and  speak  to  men  heated  with  every  passion,  of 
"righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come," 
was  a  work  of  the  most  trying  kind.  Sometimes 
they  were  made  to  feel  that  it  were  easier  to  face  an 
armed  host  than  bear  the  calumny  and  the  shame. 
Often  were  they  threatened,  often  assailed,  and  some- 
times well-nigh  put  to  silence ;  but  they  trusted  in 
Him  who  hath  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth ; 


A  Prince  of  Market-prcacJicrs.  245 

and  sometimes,  when  tliey  tlioug'lit  the  Word  was 
only  hke  water  spilt  upon  the  gromid,  they  were 
amazed  and  overjoyed  to  discover  rough,  burly 
ploughmen  breaking  down  under  the  truth,  weep- 
ing like  children,  and  asking  what  they  must  do  to 
be  saved.  All  over  the  north-eastern  counties  you 
come  upon  strong,  hard-headed,  tender-hearted,  God- 
fearing men,  who  tell  you  that  they  were  "brocht 
tae  the  Lord "  at  such  and  such  a  market,  giving 
you  place  and  date  of  their  second  birth.  Besides 
that,  the  general  improvement  in  morals,  particu- 
larly m  the  matter  of  sobriety,  decency,  and  order, 
at  some  of  the  feeing  markets,  was  so  marked  as  to 
draw  forth  expressions  of  wonder  and  admiration 
from  even  men  of  the  world.  If  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  suitable  laborers  were  found  for  this  work,  a 
thorough  reformation  should  be  effected,  as  the  ex- 
periment proved ;  but  men  possessing  the  necessary 
courage  and  zeal  appear  to  be  few,  and  such  gigan- 
tic labors  exhaust  or  kill  them. 

Nature  and  grace  conspired  to  make  Duncan 
Matheson  a  prince  of  market-preachers.  His  hand- 
some, well-knit  form  impressed  the  sons  of  the  soil 
with  a  sense  of  his  great  strength ;  his  frank,  straight- 
forward manner  commanded  their  respect ;  his  ready 
wit  captivated  a  people  whose  genuine  humor  is  pro- 
verbial ;  his  voice,  rising  above  the  din,  summoned 
them  as  with  a  trumpet  to  listen ;  his  manifest  supe- 
riority to  all  fear  made  him  a  hero  in  their  eyes ;  and 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  with  the  truth  as  it  is  in 


246  His  Felloiv- Lab  overs. 

Christ  Jesus,  did  the  rest.  In  this  rough,  self-deny- 
ing work  he  was  nobly  assisted  by  several  ministers 
of  the  Gospel  and  other  right-hearted  servants  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

Sometimes  when  a  hearing  could  not  be  obtained, 
and  further  prosecution  of  the  work  seemed  an  utter 
waste  of  energy  and  time,  Duncan  would  start  up 
and  begin  thus — "  I  will  tell  you  a  thing  that  hap- 
pened when  I  was  in  the  Crimea."  Immediately 
there  is  a  respectful  silence ;  the  audience  seem  as 
if  spell-bound  while  the  preacher  proceeds  to  tell 
his  story,  which  is  only  an  introduction  to  the 
Gospel. 

In  a  certain  town  a  gentleman  well  known  in  the 
place  came  up  to  him  as  he  was  preaching  in  the 
market,  and  mockingly  said,  "  Well,  what  is  the 
word  of  the  Lord  to-day?"  Our  preacher  turned 
with  a  piercing  glance  of  his  eye,  and  promptly  re- 
plied, "  0  earth,  earth,  earth,  hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord ! "  Shortly  afterwards  that  same  scoffer  lay  at 
the  point  of  death  in  a  room  right  over  the  corner 
where  he  had  assailed  the  servant  of  God.  He  had 
been  suddenly  seized  with  what  he  believed  were 
the  pains  of  death ;  and  in  his  alarm  he  cried,  "  I  am 

dying — run,  run  for  Mr. ;  get  a  Bible — quick, 

quick ! "  But  ere  human  aid  was  procured,  or  the 
Bible  brought  from  the  shelf  where  it  lay  neglected, 
the  accomplished  scoffer  had  passed  to  his  final  ac- 
count. This  incident,  with  others  of  a  similar  char- 
acter, tended  to  lessen  the  hostility  at  first  shown  to 


The  Battle  Won.  247 

preaching  in  the  market,  and  to  pave  the  way  for  a 
respectful  hearing  of  the  Gospel. 

In  another  town  the  preachers  were  one  day  furi- 
ously assailed  and  subjected  to  much  personal  in- 
dignity and  violence  by  a  mob,  led  on  by  paid  agents 
of  tavern-keepers,  whose  profits  were  diminished  by 
the  effective  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  For  hours 
the  preachers  maintained  their  position  in  the  out- 
skirts of  the  market ;  towards  the  close  of  the  day, 
led  on  by  Matheson,  they  pushed  their  way  into  the 
centre  of  the  fair.  Here  they  were  set  on  by  the 
entire  rascality,  hired  and  unhired,  of  the  town; 
but  a  shower  happening  at  that  crisis,  the  stento- 
rian voice  of  our  evangelist  was  heard  high  above 
the  clamor  shouting,  "Off  hats,  men,  and  let  us 
thank  our  Father  in  heaven,  who  sendeth  rain  on 
the  just  and  on  the  unjust,  for  this  refreshing  shower, 
instead  of  fire  and  brimstone  to  consume  us."  The 
effect  of  this  appeal  was  striking.  Every  voice 
was  hushed,  and  every  head  uncovered,  and  one 
who  was  present  describes  the  prayer  of  the  evange- 
list as  overwhelmingly  touching  and  solemn.  The 
battle  was  now  turned  to  the  gate,  and  the  preach- 
ers carried  all  before  them. 

On  another  occasion  the  showman  of  a  penny 
theatre,  finding  that  his  sarcastic  merriment  did 
not  shame  the  preachers  into  silence,  challenged 
them  to  come  up  to  his  platform,  and  see  if  they 
could  speak  there.  The  challenge,  contrary  to  the 
expectations  of  the  showman,  was  accepted,  and  our 


243  special  Call  for  Prayer. 

evangelist  accompanied  by  Mr.  Hector  Macpherson 
took  possession  of  the  stage,  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  whole  market.  Mr.  Matheson  began ;  the  show- 
man was  put  to  silence,  and  went  away,  leaving 
the  evangelists  in  possession  of  his  platform,  from, 
which  they  addressed  an  immense  crowd  with  re- 
markable effect. 

Prudence  and  tact  were  needed  as  well  as  cour- 
age. Sometimes  he  deemed  it  right  to  buy  up  the 
showmen;  by  giving  them  a  fair  day's  custom  he 
procured  their  silence. 

In  a  "Special  Call  for  Prayer,"  he  says:  "These 
markets  are  fields  of  deepest  trial.  For  long  they 
have  been  left  in  the  power  of  the  wicked  one,  and 
thousands  of  souls  have  been  ruined  for  eternity. 
Surely,  we  shall  not  ask  for  prayer  in  vain;  and 
when  the  banner  of  Christ  is  unfurled  shall  there  be 
one  living  soul  found  shrinking  from  the  fight,  or  re- 
fusing to  cry  from  the  depths  of  their  hearts,  'Awake, 
awake,  put  on  strength,  0  arm  of  the  Lord'?" 

The  "special  call  for  prayer"  was  accompanied 
by  the  use  of  other  means,  such  as  the  following 
advertisement  in  a  newspaper : 

"MAKKET  PKEACHING. 
"If  the  Lord  permit,  the  Everlasting  Gospel  will 
be  preached  at  Longside,  Ellon,  Aberdeen,  Turriff, 
Inverury,  and  other  feeing  markets. 
"a  solemn  question. 
"  How  long  do  you  think  it  would  take  you  to 
count  a  billion  ?     A  billion  is  a  million  of  millions ; 


Duration  of  Eternity.  249 

and  if  you  were  to  count  at  the  rate  of  two  hun- 
dred a  minute,  it  would  require  more  than  nine 
thousand  years  to  finish  it.  Now,  you  must  Hve  a 
bilhon  of  years  either  in  heaven  or  hell,  and  when 
that  billion  of  years  is  past,  you  must  live  another 
billion  of  years,  and  then  another;  and  another; 
and  even  then  your  life  will  only  be,  as  it  were, 
beginning.  You  must  live  forever^  lohether  you  will 
or  no.  Is  it  not  an  awful  thought  that  you  are  an 
immortal  being,  and  that  there  is  no  escape  into 
nothingness?  Dear  friend,  you  are  making  an  aw- 
ful blunder  if  you  are  living  for  this  world  only ; 
and,  if  you  die  unsaved,  it  is  a  blunder  that  can 
never  be  remedied.  Jesus  offers  to  save  you  now. 
He  died  to  save;  and  if  you  come  to  Him  as  you 
are — no  matter  how  great  a  sinner  you  may  be — 
He  will  save  you;  for  He  says,  'Him  that  cometh 
to  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.'  The  time  is 
short,  your  soul  is  precious,  and  eternity  is  near. 

"D.  M." 

Mr.  Matheson  frequently  assisted  his  friends  in 
preaching  at  the  Dundee  annual  fair.  In  those  days 
this  fair  was  held  in  a  quarry-pit  in  the  centre  of 
the  town,  and  for  crowds,  excitement,  dissipation, 
and  ruin  to  the  souls  of  the  gay  and  thoughtless  rev- 
ellers, was  equal  to  forty  country  markets.  Here, 
as  we  too  well  know,  many  of  the  young  tasted  for 
the  first  time  the  devil's  sweets.  Here  receiving 
their  first  great  impulse  hellward,  they  went  bound- 


250  Preaching  at  the  Fair. 

ing  down  tlie  steep  of  dissipation  until  they  disap- 
peared amidst  the  darkness  of  a  Hving  death,  or 
were  wrapped  in  the  deep  shades  of  a  premature 
grave.  Here  I  have  known  the  girl  of  fourteen 
disappear;  and  no  tongue  could  tell  the  father  and 
the  mother's  agony  as  they  prosecuted  for  days  and 
nights  the  saddest  search  on  earth,  in  the  hope  of 
plucking  from  the  jaws  of  ruin  some  fragments  of 
their  lost  child's  humanity. 

In  this  very  place,  where  Folly  was  scattering 
wide  the  seeds  of  death,  handfuls  of  the  good  Word 
of  God  were  cast  in,  not  without  yielding  fruit.  To 
preach  here  seemed  mad  enough  to  many,  and  use- 
less enough  to  most.  Amid  such  sounds  and  scenes 
it  was  hard  to  sustain  the  voice  and  maintain  com- 
posure of  spirit;  but  exhaustion,  loss  of  voice,  vio- 
lent opposition,  occasional  peltings  with  stones  and 
other  missiles,  mockery  and  scorn,  only  served  to 
inflame  zeal,  deepen  compassion,  and  rouse  every 
energy  in  the  interests  of  the  divine  glory  and  of 
the  souls  of  men.  The  pains  thus  taken  were  amply 
rewarded  in  the  snatching  of  brands  from  the  fire. 
"Let  us  raise  the  banner  once  more,"  our  evangelist 
used  to  say.  Accordingly,  after  much  prayer,  we  sal- 
lied forth  with  joyful  hearts,  and,  surrounded  by  a 
little  band  of  singers,  we  continued  preaching,  prais- 
ing God,  and  praying  till  the  latest  hour  of  night. 
We  were  often  assailed  by  "lewd  fellows  of  the 
baser  sort;"  but  in  the  most  tumultuous  moment 
of  danger  prayer  never  failed,  and  frequently  at 


''Prepare  to  Meet  thy  God''  251 

tlie  worst  a  sense  of  the  Lord's  presence  suddenly 
filled  our  hearts  with  joy,  so  that  we  spake  the 
word  with  boldness. 

On  one  occasion  a  burly  Yorkshireman  attempted 
to  stop  the  preaching  by  driving  his  horses  and  car- 
avan in  amongst  us.  Matheson,  who  was  speaking 
at  that  moment,  turned  his  face  to  the  adversary, 
and  in  his  solemn  way,  thundered  out  these  words, 
"Prepare  to  meet  thy  God!"  The  showman  drew 
up  his  horses,  listened  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then 
turning  deadly  pale,  quickly  beat  a  retreat. 

One  night  a  showman,  thinking  we  had  taken  our 
stand  in  too  close  proximity  to  his  tabernacle,  fetched 
his  magic  bottle,  and  with  a  significant  glance  in  our 
direction,  said,  "Talk  of  revivals!  Here  is  some- 
thing that  will  revive  you!"  Shouts  of  derisive 
laughter  followed.  We  paused  a  moment,  then  be- 
gan to  sing  the  twenty-third  Psalm.  As  we  sung, 
the  people  began  to  leave  the  showman,  and  come 
to  our  side:  there  was  a  charm  for  them  in  King 
David's  song.  Prayer  was  offered :  more  of  the  peo- 
ple came  over.  A  simple  exposition  of  the  Psalm 
followed:  the  larger  portion  of  the  showman's  audi- 
ence left  him  to  hear  about  the  green  pastures  and 
the  still  waters.  Ere  we  finished  the  show  was  well- 
nigh  deserted,  and  we  could  see  the  tears  trickling 
down  the  cheeks  of  some  as  they  listened  to  the 
story  of  the  Good  Shepherd  coming  into  the  wilder- 
ness of  this  world  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost. 

Patience  and  love  always  prevailed.    One  Sabbath 


252  -A   Struggle. 

evening,  at  the  time  of  the  fair,  we  were  resting  our- 
selves in  the  house  after  a  service  in  the  open  air. 
Suddenly  four  young  men,  maddened  with  strong 
drink,  rushed  into  the  room,  and  furiously  assailed 
us,  while  a  fierce  and  numerous  reserve  remained  at 
the  door.  The  object  of  their  wrath  was  the  person 
of  the  writer,  who  had  reproved  them  in  the  street 
for  scoffing.  A  violent  struggle  followed.  Mathe- 
son  interposed,  and  seizing  the  ringleader  by  the 
arm,  said,  "  Let  us  pray."  We  both  dropped  upon 
our  knees,  and  fervently  entreated  God  to  bless  and 
save  the  young  men.  For  a  moment  they  were  par- 
alyzed by  astonishment  or  fear.  Again  and  again, 
for  nearly  two  hours,  the  battle  was  renewed;  again 
and  again  we  resorted  to  prayer,  striking  no  blows 
but  those  of  faith  and  love.  At  last  the  victory  re- 
mained with  us ;  the  young  men  became  as  quiet  as 
lambs.  We  preached  the  Gospel  to  them,  and  ere 
they  went  away  we  formed  an  alliance  of  peace  and 
friendship  that  has  never  been  broken.  Such  inci- 
dents were  not  infrequent,  and  the  result  often  illus- 
trated in  a  striking  manner  the  sovereignty  of  the 
grace  of  God.  ]\Ien  who  were  at  one  time  leaders  of 
the  mob  in  their  most  violent  attacks  on  us  in  the 
open-air  meetings  are  now,  as  the  writer  can  tes- 
tify, ranked  among  the  peaceful  disciples  of  Jesus, 
and  distinguished  for  their  zeal  in  the  cause  of  the 
Gospel. 

One  night  at  Perth,  while  we  preached  in  the 
street  we  were  set  on  by  an  infuriated  crowd.     We 


A  Memorable  Night.  253 

sang  the  hymn,  "There  is  rest  for  the  weary;"  but 
as  we  sang  matters  grew  worse  and  worse.  Not 
contented  with  hooting  and  yelHng,  they  rushed 
upon  lis,  and  gathering  the  dirt  of  the  street,  be- 
spattered us  freely.  Matheson,  who  never  lost  his 
self-possession,  frequently  whispered  in  my  ear, 
"Never  mind;  perhaps  a  soul  will  be  saved."  We 
continued  to  sing  until  we  reached  the  door  of  the 
hall  where  a  meeting  was  being  held.  Our  strength 
exhausted,  our  pride  in  the  dust,  we  turned  to  ad- 
dress a  word  of  affectionate  entreaty  to  our  victori- 
ous assailants,  when  suddenly  the  Spirit  of  God  fell 
upon  us  and  upon  all  those  people.  Our  hearts  were 
filled  with  a  new  and  Avonderful  joy,  heaven  seemed 
to  be  opened  above  us,  the  awful  verities  of  eternity 
were  disclosed  with  soul-piercing  vividness,  and 
with  bleeding  hearts  we  besought  them  all  to  re- 
pent and  believe  the  Gospel.  At  the  same  moment 
the  great  crowd  ceased  its  fiendish  rage  and  mock- 
ing ;  the  stillness  of  death  followed ;  and  as  we  urged 
them  to  tiee  to  Jesus  from  the  wrath  to  come,  many 
burst  into  tears.  The  people  seemed  ready  to  cast 
themselves  at  our  feet  as  we  preached  Christ  to 
them.  It  was  a  memorable  night,  the  issues  of 
which  are  with  the  Lord.  Thus  we  learned  that 
Satan  rages  when  his  kingdom  shakes  and  his  vic- 
tims are  about  to  escape. 

One  night  at  the  fair  in  Dundee  a  young  man  bent 
on  folly  stopped  for  a  little  to  hear  the  preaching. 
Stung  by  the  truth,  and  angry  lest  he  should  lose 


254  ^  Drunkard' s    Wife. 

his  pleasures,  he  tore  himself  away,  and  rushed  into 
the  next  street,  saying,  "  Now  I've  got  rid  of  them." 
Scarcely  had  he  turned  the  corner,  however,  when 
he  came  upon  another  preacher,  was  arrested,  and 
brought  to  the  Saviour.  A  policeman  on  his  rounds 
stood  for  a  moment  to  hear  "  what  in  all  the  world 
those  preachers  could  have  to  say  in  the  fair,"  when 
suddenly  a  ray  of  light  shot  through  the  darkness, 
and  he  too  was  converted.  Two  young  women, 
bent  on  pleasure,  stopped  as  they  pressed  through 
the  crowd  to  hear  the  singing  of  the  hymn — 

*'  0  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice 
On  Thee,  my  Saviour  and  my  God  ! 
Well  may  this  glowing  heart  rejoice, 
And  tell  its  raptures  all  abroad." 

"Come  away,"  said  the  one  to  the  other;  "we'll 
be  too  late."     "I  dare  na  gang,"  was  the  reply. 

They  strove,  and  parted;  the  one  going  to  the 
pleasures  of  death,  the  other  remaining  to  seek  the 
protection  of  Jesus,  and  to  join  the  society  of  His 
people. 

A  poor  woman,  a  drunkard's  wife,  steeped  in 
poverty  and  clothed  in  rags,  was  coming  along  the 
street  with  a  babe  in  her  arms.  Happiness  had  for- 
saken her  long  ago ;  desperate  struggles  with  want 
made  her  weary  of  life ;  hope,  that  most  patient  of 
angels,  had  disappeared  in  the  clouds ;  and  all  her 
days  and  nights  seemed  but  steps  to  deeper  woe. 
A  voice  strange  to  her  fell  upon  her  ear.  The  one 
utterance  that  fell  like  dew  upon  her  weary  heart 


The  Voice  of  Jesus .  255 

was  the  word  of  the  Lord — "  Come  iiiito  Me,  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest."  She  stood  still  upon  the  pavement,  far  off 
from  the  preacher;  and  as  she  listened,  the  voice 
seemed  to  come  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  heart. 
"Rest!"  she  said  to  herself,  as  the  preacher  went 
on  to  explain  rest  in  the  Lord  Jesus — "  rest !  that  is 
what  I  want."  Jesus  heard  the  groaning  of  that 
oppressed  spirit,  and  came  to  her  relief  There  and 
then  she  believed  on  Christ ;  there  and  then  she  en- 
tered on  the  rest  of  the  Gospel.  Peace  and  joy,  like 
birds  of  Paradise,  began  to  sing  in  her  soul.  She 
carried  the  blessing  home,  and  the  light  that  filled 
that  mother's  heart  illuminated  the  drunkard's  house, 
and  transformed  it  into  a  Bethel.  Years  have  passed ; 
she  still  hearkens  to  Jesus,  and  still  hears  Him  say- 
ing, "  Come  unto  Me,  and  rest." 

"I  hear  the  voice  of  Jesus  say, 
'  Come  unto  Me,  and  rest; 
Lay  down,  thou  weary  one,  lay  down 
Thy  head  upon  my  breast.' 

"  I  came  to  Jesus  as  I  was. 
Weary,  and  worn,  and  sad; 
I  found  in  Him  a  resting-place. 
And  He  has  made  me  glad." 

These  are  a  few  instances  out  of  many ;  the  day 
alone  will  declare  all  the  results.  To  the  wise  and 
prudent  the  preachers  might  appear  to  be  fools ;  but 
the  Gospel  was  preached  to  the  poor,  evil  was  pre- 
vented, good  was  done,  souls  were  saved,  and  God 


256  Some  of  His  Helpers. 

was  glorified.  From  strange  quarters,  and  in  ways 
too  strange  to  find  an  explanation  in  the  philosophy 
of  the  rigidly  systematic  Christian,  God  gathers  his 
elect.  It  does  seem  meet,  that  from  amidst  those 
scenes  where  Satan  has  his  seat,  and  those  on-goings 
where  the  destroyer  of  souls  enjoys  his  proudest 
triumphs,  the  Kedeemer  should  gather  the  trophies 
of  his  matchless  grace.  When  in  glory  the  ransomed 
shall  tell  each  his  strange  story  of  a  Saviour's  love ; 
and  one  shall  say,  "He  found  me  in  the  nursery;" 
and  another,  "He  found  me  in  the  school;"  while 
others  tell  how  they  were  found  in  the  house  of 
prayer,  the  sick  bed,  the  workshop,  or  the  field;  one 
will  say,  "  He  found  me  mad  upon  my  idols,  amidst 
the  revels  of  the  fair — there  He  cast  the  charm  of 
his  love  around  me,  and  thence  He  drew  me  to 
Himself" 

Several  of  the  Christian  helpers  in  this  work  have 
gone  to  be  with  the  Lord.  Mr.  Johnstone,  pastor 
of  a  Methodist  Church,  fell  like  a  true  soldier  at  his 
post,  and  passed  from  the  hallowed  services  of  the 
Lord's  day  on  earth  to  the  joys  of  the  everlasting 
Sabbath  in  heaven.  He  was  mighty  in  prayer,  and 
it  was  the  practice  of  our  evangelist  to  ask  at  the 
commencement  of  his  meetings,  "  Is  Johnstone  here 
to  pray?"  Eobert  Annan,  the  stoutest  of  street- 
preachers,  is  also  at  his  rest.  Dan  Collison,  a  young 
man  of  remarkable  faith,  said  one  night  as  he  left 
the  fair,  "  I  am  gaun'  hame  to  tell  my  Faither," 
meaning  that  he  was  going  to  spend  the  midnight 


^'■The  Litckjww  Hero^  257 

hour  in  prayer.  In  a  few  hours  afterwards  he 
reached  the  Father's  house  of  many  mansions.  When 
charged,  hke  Paul,  with  madness,  Dan  was  wont 
to  say,  "  If  I'm  mad,  I'll  get  heaven  for  an  asylum." 
"  The  Lucknow  Hero,"  a  Christian  soldier  of  gigan- 
tic stature,  who  had  fought  in  the  Indian  mutiny, 
used  to  assist  in  these  services  by  marching  in  front 
to  clear  the  way.  He  could  not  preach,  but  he 
could  help  in  his  own  way.  Drawing  himself  up  to 
his  full  height  between  the  preachers  and  their  op- 
ponents, he  seemed  to  say,  "If  you  dare  meddle 
with  these  men,  you  see  what  you  have  to  en- 
counter." He  also  has  received  the  palm  of  victory. 
Mr.  Nairn,  merchant,  an  unwearied  helper  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  is  also  numbered  with  those  who 
have  crossed  the  flood.  Amidst  the  ravings  of  the 
fever  that  closed  his  earthly  career,  he  spoke  only 
of  the  Saviour  whom  he  loved.  Others,  whose  chief 
part  was  not  to  speak  or  act,  but  to  watch  and  pray, 
we  have  accompanied  to  the  border-laiid,  and  have 
seen  them  depart,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  their 
Eedeemer. 

Dr.  W.  P.  Mackay,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  Hull,  who  accompanied  Mr.  Matheson  to 
the  feeing  markets  and  assisted  in  the  work,  writes 
as  follows:  "Among  the  very  first  times  I  spoke 
with  him  was  at  a  railway  station.  We  had  been 
speaking  of  entire  consecration  to  the  Lord,  and  the 
noble  work  of  preaching  Christ  and  getting  souls 
saved.  My  mind  was  not  very  clear  as  to  my  own 
17 


258  Testimony  of  Dr.  Mackay. 

path.  I  was  seeking  light  as  to  my  future  course 
— whether  I  should  give  myself  entirely  up  to  preach 
the  Gospel  or  enter  a  professional  course.  Many 
young  men  are  similarly  placed,  and  often  require 
an  encouraging  word  when  all  around  seems  doubt- 
ful or  dark.  We  had  to  go  in  different  directions, 
He  crossed  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  platform, 
and  his  last  words  before  our  trains  came  up  were 
in  his  manly  accents,  '  Go  and  read  George  MuUer, 
of  Ashley  Down.'  I  had  never  heard  the  name  be- 
fore, but  I  put  it  down  in  my  memory.  On  the  first 
opportunity  I  read  his  history,  and  for  the  first 
time  in  my  life  saw  the  meaning  of  practical  every- 
day faith.  I  had  known  about  faith  to  save  my  soul, 
but  this  opened  up  quite  a  new  aspect  of  God's 
glorious  truth. 

"Time  wore  on.  I  was  often  in  his  company, 
and  always  felt  in  his  presence,  There  is  a  man  in 
real  earnest,  and  his  one  word  is  'Eternity.'  He 
used  to  say  to  me,  '  Stick  by  what  God  has  blessed 
to  your  own  soul.  Every  evangelist  has  a  some- 
thing that  God  has  given  him  as  a  great  reality, 
and  God  uses  the  evangelist  to  carry  home  that 
truth  to  do  his  own  work.  One,  for  instance,  has 
this  word,  God  is  love;  anotlier  is  used  to  impress 
on  his  audience,  It  is  ivritien;  a  third  has  to  preach 
Oneness  with  Christ;  and  a  fourth.  Believe  and  live; 
and  so  on,  just  as  God  has  bm-ned  the  truth  into 
their  own  souls.'  'Well,  Duncan,'  T  said,  'What  is 
yours?'     'Ah  mine  is  plain.  Deaths  Judgment^  and 


The  Feeing  Market  Campaign.  259 

Eternity;  and  by  God's  grace  I  mean  to  hold  by  it.' 
And  so  he  did. 

"Well  do  I  remember  my  first  introduction  to 
the  feemg  market  campaign  under  his  guidance. 
It  was  in  May,  1862.  On  the  13th  we  went  to 
Ellon,  in  Aberdeenshire.  Here,  supported  by  a 
number  of  earnest  pastors,  we  preached  till  night- 
fall the  words  of  eternal  life,  Duncan's  voice  reach- 
ing well  over  the  whole  fair  in  an  earnestness  all  his 
own.  Next  day  we  went  to  Potarch  market,  up  Dee- 
side,  and  there  we  met  with  strong  opposition.  A 
goodly  number  of  laborers,  pastors,  and  evangelists 
— several  of  whom,  as  Major  Gibson  and  Colonel 
Ramsay,  are  now  with  the  Lord — drove  down  to  the 
fair.  This  was  about  as  hard  a  battle-field  as  we 
were  on  in  all  the  campaign.  We  had  had  much 
prayer  about  it,  but  the  opposition,  or  rather  indif- 
ference, was  very  marked.  We  could  hardly  get  a 
dozen  at  a  time  to  listen.  But  Duncan  was  deter- 
mined they  should  hear.  'Come,'  said  he,  'let  us 
blow  the  rams'  horns  outside  the  city.'  We  all  went 
to  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd,  and  knelt  round  in  a 
circle,  and  began  to  pray  to  God,  as  we  felt  we  had 
no  power  with  men.  Many  of  the  men  inflamed 
with  drink  came  round  and  looked  at  the  rare  spec- 
tacle. There  were  more  than  a  dozen  uncovered 
heads  of  kneeling  men,  who  were  entreating  God 
to  have  mercy  on  those  Avho  had  no  mercy  on  them- 
selves. As  the  spare  gray  locks  of  several  of  the 
veterans  waved  in  the  summer  breeze,  and  the  tones 


26c  Unfurling  the  Banner. 

of  entreaty  went  up  to  tlie  throne,  there  was  some- 
thhig  that  seemed  calculated  to  calm  the  wildest  op- 
poser  ;  but  Satan  appeared  let  loose.  They  danced, 
and  whooped,  and  yelled  round  the  chcle  of  prayer 
like  so  many  fiends.  One  coarse  fellow  deliberately 
came  beside  Major  Gibson  and  spat  in  his  face  while 
/  he  was  praying.  The  gallant  soldier  merely  took 
out  his  handkerchief,  wiped  his  face,  and  prayed  for 
the  poor  sinner.  We  rose  from  our  knees.  'Now,' 
said  Duncan,  'let  us  again  unfurl  the  banner,'  and 
turning  to  me,  he  said,  'Strike  up  "Kest  for  the 
weary,"  and  let  us  in  to  the  centre  of  the  camp.' 
Then  we  got  an  audience  indeed,  and  the  word 
seemed  to  be  with  power.  I  spoke  at  least  to  two 
who  were  stricken  with  great  conviction  of  sin. 
Duncan  would  not  stop  preaching  even  when  the 
horses  were  being  yoked  to  drive  us  from  the  fair, 
but  from  the  conveyance  preached,  exhorted,  and 
entreated  sinners  to  come  to  Christ. 

On  Friday,  the  16th,  we  went  to  Insch,  where 
there  seemed  many  attentive  hearers,  several  of 
those  who  had  been  converted  under  Duncan  and 
other  laborers  rallying  round  us.  On  the  Monday 
following  we  were  at  Alford,  where  constant  preach- 
ing went  on  all  day,  many  dear  brethren  from  Aber- 
deen and  elsewhere  taking  part.  I  have  letters  in 
my  possession  from  those  who  profess  to  have  been 
benefited  for  eternity  from  this  day's  work,  besides 
having  seen  several  who  had  been  brought  to  the 
truth  at  former  preachings  there.     On  Wednesday 


Cheap  John.  261 

we  went  on  to  Huntly,  where  such  wonderful 
things  had  been  seen  in  years  gone  by,  when 
Duncan,  EadchfFe,  and  others,  gathered  by  the 
Duchess  of  Gordon,  were  so  owned  of  God  in  the 
market.  Here,  assisted  by  other  brethren,  the  Gos- 
pel was  proclaimed,  and  there  were  many  atten- 
tive listeners. 

"  On  the  following  Friday  we  went  to  Elgin.  In 
the  train,  as  Duncan  and  I  took  our  seats,  a  man 
sat  down  beside  us,  whom  we  recognized  as  a  very 
prominent  Cheap  John  in  the  fairs,  and  who  we 
supposed  was  going  to  Elgin.  He  recognized  us 
also,  and  said,  in  a  very  hoarse  voice,  'Are  you  go- 
ing to  Elgin?'  'Yes,'  said  Duncan.  'Like  ourselves, 
you  seem  to  be  very  hoarse ;  here  is  a  lozenge  for 
you.  But,  man,  if  you  would  use  that  splendid 
voice  of  yours  in  the  service  of  our  Master  instead 
of  the  service  of  Satan,  it  would  be  worth  living 
for.'  He  was  about  the  smartest  in  the  whole  of 
the  markets,  and  he  smiled  at  us  as  he  took  out  a 
handful  of  pound  notes  and  shook  them  before  us, 
saying,  'Ay,  but  you  could  not  bring  me  that  with 
your  preaching.'  'No,'  said  Duncan;  'but  what 
shall  it  profit  you,  if  you  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
lose  your  soul  ?  Ah,  Jack,  perhaps  you  had  a  pray- 
ing mother,  who  took  you  to  her  side  as  she  knelt 
and  taught  you  "Our  Father,"  and  who  prayed  that 
she  might  meet  you  in  heaven.  Shall  we  not  see 
you  preaching  in  the  markets  yet?  When  God 
converts  you,  send  for  me,  and  I'll  join  you,  wher- 


262  A  Rare  Gift. 

ever  it  is.'  The  poor  fellow  seemed  quite  solem- 
nized, and  took  it  all  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was 
given ;  but  the  Searcher  of  hearts  knows  if  Duncan's 
desire  was  realized. 

"A  week  after  this  we  went  to  a  fair  in  the  south, 
upwards  of  a  hundred  miles  from  where  we  parted 
with  Jack,  and  no  sooner  had  we  taken  our  stand 
than  the  first  man  we  saw  was  our  railway  friend. 
He  immediately  recognized  us.  He  had  his  large 
hand-bell  ready  to  begin  operations,  when  Duncan 
said,  'Let  us  pray.'  The  man  stopped  his  bell, 
bowed  his  head  until  the  prayer  was  done,  and 
then  began  to  scatter  coppers  to  draw  a  crowd. 
Coppers  were,  of  course,  more  attractive  than  the 
Gospel  of  eternal  life,  and  so  he  gathered  the  large 
crowd,  and  we  the  small;  but  Jack,  noticing  this, 
and,  as  if  not  to  interfere  with  our  work,  wheeled 
his  platform  away  to  the  furthest  end  of  the  fair, 
and  left  us  undisturbed. 

"Duncan  had  a  rare  gift  of  getting  respect  from 
even  the  unconverted  by  his  manly,  open-faced 
manner.  The  lame  sailors,  with  their  shipwreck 
picture  before  them,  and  other  itinerant  beggars, 
lifted  their  hats  to  him  as  he  gave  them  a  word  of 
warning  and  Gospel. 

"From  Elgin  we  went  to  Turiff,  and  met  with 
considerable  opposition,  but  also  considerable  atten- 
tion to  the  Gospel  preached.  In  private  we  had  a 
meeting  on  our  knees  here,  that  brought  us  so 
closely  into  the  presence  of  the  Master,  and  showed 


Nothing  Else  but  Christ.  263 

•Qs  the  worthlessness  of  all  flesh,  that  it  will  never 
be  forgotten  by  many  of  us. 

"These  scenes  happened  eight  years  ago,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  recall  particulars ;  but  many  will  have 
to  thank  God  through  eternity  for  having  raised  up 
Duncan  Matheson,  who  with  living  voice  and  his 
Special  Herald  carried  salvation  home  to  their  souls. 
It  is  a  noble  and  fruitful  work.  One  man  came  to 
us  saying,  '  I  at  least  hear  the  Gospel  once  a  year, 
and  that  is  at  the  fair.'  Another  said,  rather  from 
sarcasm  than  any  thing  else,  'Your  sermons  here 
seem  to  have  nothing  in  them  but  Christ.  It  seems 
to  me  that  you  can  speak  of  nothing  else  but  Christ 
— Christ  from  beginning  to  end.  Ye  let  us  hear 
more  about  Christ  than  we  get  in  a  whole  year.' 

"Duncan  used  often  to  say,  'Keep  the  Word  at 
them;'  and  when  he  could  scarcely  be  heard  in  a 
continued  discourse  he  launched  out  short,  pithy, 
telling  texts  of  Scripture.  As  a  man  would  be 
pushing  his  merchandise,  he  would  sound  in  the 
ears  of  buyer  and  seller,  who  were  thinking  of  prof- 
its, 'What  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his 
soul?'  He  would  come  in  front  of  a  man  being 
weighed  for  a  penny,  and  in  his  solemn  tones  and 
earnest  manner,  making  the  man  tremble  all  over, 
he  would  say,  'Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances, 
and  art  found  wanting.' 

"  Many  other  places  we  visited  in  company  dur- 
ing the  happy  years  I  had  the  privilege  to  labor 
with  him ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  you  have  fuller  in- 


264  ''Rest  for  the   WearyT 

formation  than  J  can  give.  His  warfare  was  no  easy 
warfare.  He  never  thought  of  rest.  '  Eest  1 '  said 
he,  '  no,  I  can't.  Eternity !  eternity !  I'll  rest  there ; 
and  you  can  gather  the  northern  converts,  and  over 
my  grave  sing,  "  Rest  for  the  ivearyy '  Often  he  got 
the  opposite  of  a  kind  reception,  of  course,  as  did  his 
Master.  At  one  place  we  were  going  to  get  our  tea 
at  a  temperance  hotel.  A  woman  came  after  us, 
saying,  'You  shall  not  go  there  as  long  as  I  have  a 
house ; '  and  she  did  give  us  a  hearty  reception.  He 
was  too  independent  of  men's  smiles  or  frowns  to  be 
universally  acceptable.  He  rejoiced  to  do  God's 
work  in  God's  way.  The  water  of  life  flows  as  a 
river,  not  as  a  canal ;  and  many  men  quench  the 
Spirit  by  determining  the  exact  shape,  depth,  and 
width  of  the  canal,  instead  of  taking  the  winding, 
irregular  river  as  God  sends  it. 

"  The  life  of  Duncan  Matheson  may  well  stir  us 
all  up  to  live  more  in  the  light  of  eternity,  working 
to  please  but  One,  working  to  gather  souls  to  that 
glorious  One,  and  build  them  up  in  the  knowledge 
of  Him  who  is  the  light  of  eternity." 

For  two  or  three  years — from  1862  to  1865 — there 
was  a  slight  and  natural  reaction  in  many  places 
where  a  real  work  of  grace  has  been  wrought.  This 
lull  was  not  pleasant,  but  it  was  profitable.  Heaps 
of  stones  having  been  gathered  from  the  quarry,  the 
work  of  selection  and  rejection,  polishing  and  build- 
ing, had  to  be  carried  on.     Reaping,  with  its  sun- 


We  Must  Not  Loivcr  the  Standard.        265 

shine  and  its  songs,  is  delightful  work ;  but  after  it 
comes  the  work  of  the  barn,  with  its  din,  its  dust, 
and  its  stern  process  of  separating  the  chaff  from  the 
wheat.  At  the  same  time  new  fields  were  opening 
to  the  indefatigable  evangelist;  slumbering  com- 
munities here  and  there  were  moved  by  the  voice 
of  the  awakening  Spirit.  During  those  years  his 
labors  were  without  ceasing.  "  We  must  not  lower 
the  standard  "  was  his  constant  sa}dng.  If  the  field 
was  ever  widening,  his  power  for  work  seemed 
to  grow  in  equal  measure.  Wherever  a  religious 
interest  was  awakening  he  hastened  to  render 
help.  Where  no  work  was  wrought  and  no  testi- 
mony raised,  true  captain  of  the  forlorn  hope  as  he 
was,  thither  he  bent  his  steps,  and  there  to  use  his 
own  martial  style,  he  "  unfurled  the  banner."  He 
was  seldom  at  home.  One  evening,  before  a  meet- 
ing, he  said  to  his  wife,  "  Mary,  this  is  a  royal  night 
with  you.  How  long  is  it  since  you  took  tea  with 
me  on  a  Sabbath  evening?"  "Just  three  times  the 
last  three  years,"  was  her  reply.  Solemnly  and  ten- 
derly he  said,  "  There  will  be  plenty  of  opportunity 
in  eternity  to  speak  together."  At  another  time  he 
said,  "Wife  and  children  must  be  nailed  to  the 
cross;  I  must  go  and  preach  the  Gospel." 

In  carrying  on  the  work  he  was  opposed  on  vari- 
ous grounds.  A  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  a  certain 
town  was  accustomed  to  offer  prayer  for  a  revival 
of  religion.  The  great  awakening  in  America  took 
place;  but  it  was  "too  American,"  and  the  minister 


266  An  Opposing  Minister. 

went  on  praying  as  before.  The  work  of  grace  in 
Ireland  followed;  but  it  was  "too  Irish,"  and  he 
went  on  praying  as  before.  Kemarkable  move- 
ments occurred  in  various  parts  of  Scotland;  but  it 
was  "wild-fire,  and  he  would  have  none  of  it."  The 
Spirit  of  God  began  to  work  in  his  own  town,  very 
much  through  the  instrumentality  of  our  evangelist ; 
but  in  the  opinion  of  the  minister  the  instruments 
were  contemptible,  and  the  whole  thing  of  doubtful 
tendency,  and  he  now  began  to  pray  for  a  tri(£,  revi- 
val. At  length  members  of  his  own  congregation 
were  converted  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Mathe- 
son,  who  said  to  them,  "  Go  and  tell  your  minister 
what  the  Lord  has  done  for  your  souls ;  it  will  cheer 
his  heart,  and  do  him  good."  They  went;  some  to 
ask  direction,  and  some  to  acknowledge  grace  re- 
ceived. The  minister  was  angry.  Next  Sabbath 
he  said  it  was  all  excitement  and  delusion,  and  he 
stamped  with  his  foot  as  if  he  would  stamp  out  the 
spiritual  rinderpest.  The  excitement  and  delusion 
seemed  to  be  all  his  own.  His  prayer  had  been  an- 
swered ;  but  he  would  not  accept  the  answer  in  God's 
way.  The  work  of  grace  stood  before  him,  but  he 
knew  it  not.  Jesus  came  to  his  own,  but  his  own 
received  Him  not,  because  his  visage  was  so  marred. 
The  Holy  Spirit  came  to  the  minister,  but  the  min- 
ister disowned  and  rejected  Him  because  He  came 
in  a  garb  of  humiliation  offensive  to  human  pride. 
A  work  of  grace  without  a  flaw  must  be  an  impos- 
sibility so  long  as  God  is  pleased  to  work  by  means 


An  Offender  for  a  Word.  26^ 

of  imperfect  tools  on  the  coiTupt  material  of  human 
hearts  and  lives.  The  minister  would  accept  no  re- 
vival but  one  according  to  his  own  ideal.  What  a 
pity  that  ministers  should  go  a-dreaming  when  the 
world  is  perishing ! 

Some  opposed  the  work  because  they  had  no  scru- 
ples of  conscience,  and  others  because  they  had  too 
many.  Certain  religious  people  have  more  scruples 
in  their  conscience  than  conscience  in  their  scruples. 
To  those  who  in  effect  said,  "Sermons,  sermons  are 
our  business,"  his  reply  was,  "Souls,  souls  are  mine." 
His  constant  cry,  "  Eternity !  eternity !  souls  are  per- 
ishing ! "  was  a  cutting  rebuke  to  mere  sermon-mak-  L\A^-~ 
ers  and  sermon-hearers.  He  did  not  practise  trum-'' 
pet-blowing  for  a  bit  of  bread.  His  was  not  the  soft 
serenading  of  lovers,  but  the  sounding  of  shrill  battle 
blasts.  He  refused  to  say,  "  Peace !  peace ! "  when  he 
ought  to  cry,  "  Fire  1  fire ! "  To  gratify  carnal  tastes, 
he  would  not  put  the  devil's  butter  on  God's  bread. 
In  this  way  he  offended  both  the  lullaby  players  and 
the  lullaby  lovers.  Moreover,  his  zeal  sometimes  car- 
ried him  beyond  the  bounds  of  prudence ;  and  Mr. 
Perfectly  Small — the  same  who  is  denounced  in  an 
ancient  prophet  for  making  a  man  an  offender  for  a 
word — could  not  tolerate  the  evangelist  on  account 
of  his  blunders.  Does  he  never  blunder  himself? 
No;  no  more  than  a  periwinkle  blunders.  Small, 
heartless  men  do  not  usually  blunder  so  much  as 
men  of  much  feeling  and  soul.  Heartless  people 
keep  to  the  arithmetic  of  every  thing.     But  love, 


268  A  Handsome  Offer. 

zeal,  courage,  feeling,  lieart,  soul,  rise  above  vulgar- 
fraction  rules  of  mere  carnal  policy.  Some  men 
can  gauge  the  tear  of  penitence,  and  weigh  as  in  a 
balance  the  breath  of  a  dying  saint.  There  is  a 
crow's  nest  in  the  great  oak;  therefore,  hew  down 
the  tree.  There  is  a  cobweb  in  a  cornice;  rase  the 
temple  to  its  foundation.  The  watch-dog  barks  out 
of  season ;  slay  him.  There  is  a  crook  in  the  furrow ; 
hang  the  ploughman.  Let  a  man  live  a  holy  life ; 
let  him  toil  for  the  good  of  others  till  life  is  shortened 
by  his  self-denying  labors ;  and  let  the  broad  seal  of 
heaven  be  stamped  upon  his  work;  yet  one  word 
amiss  shall,  in  the  estimate  of  some,  outweigh  the 
whole.  Shall  a  single  particle  of  dust  outweigh 
and  render  of  no  value  a  hundi'ed  talents  of  fine 
gold?  Well,  shall  the  warrior  stop  the  battle  be- 
cause the  grasshopper  is  chirping?  I  trow  not. 
So  this  soldier  of  the  cross  went  on. 

At  this  time  a  handsome  offer  was  made  him  by 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  Zealand.  They 
proposed  to  ordain  him  as  their  first  missionary, 
with  the  status  of  a  minister  in  the  Presbytery, 
and  offered  him  a  suitable  salary.  This  offer  he  de- 
clined. Ordination  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands 
of  the  Presbytery  he  did  not  despise ;  and  although 
to  a  high  spirited-man,  such  as  he  in  the  best  sense 
was,  with  an  increasing  family,  a  stated  income  was 
to  be  preferred  to  his  uncertain  and  precarious  mode 
of  living,  with  its  inevitable  humiliations,  he  could 
not  leave  his  own  country,  where  his  labors  were  so 


A  Milling  Village.  269 

much  blessed,  and  over  whose  spiritual  necessities 
his  j)atriotic  and  Christian  spirit  brooded  with  a 
singular  love.     "So  long  as  God  is  blessing  my  la- 
bors here  in  the  conversion  of  sinners,"  he  said,  "I  j 
cannot  on  any  account  go  away." 

During  the  rest  of  his  active  ministry  his  work, 
both  in  its  character  and  results,  was  very  much 
of  a  piece.  A  few  facts,  therefore,  in  illustration 
will  suffice.  To  gather  the  people  in  obscure  and 
out  of  the  way  places,  he  procured  a  hand-bell,  which 
he  was  not  ashamed  to  ring  up  and  down  the  streets, 
announcing  to  the  astonished  inhabitants  that  he, 
the  bell-ringer,  was  going  to  preach  at  the  cross  or 
market-place.  Curiosity  brought  many  to  hear  him ; 
and  frequently  those  most  unlikely,  in  man's  esti- 
mate, to  come  under  the  power  of  the  Gospel  were 
awakened  and  saved.  The  bell-ringing  and  simi- 
lar devices  he  felt  to  be  a  humiliation,  and  he  some- 
times said,  "I  never  knew  I  had  so  little  grace  till 
I  began  to  do  that." 

One  summer  evening  the  quiet  little  mining  vil- 
lage of  Stevenston,  in  Ayrshire,  is  startled  from  its 
centre  to  its  circumference  by  a  strange  voice,  whose 
loud  sonorous  tones  waken  the  echoes  and  compel 
men  to  ask.  What  is  this  ?  The  people  rush  to  their 
doors;  a  hundred  windoAvs  are  thrown  open,  and 
the  heads  of  eager  listeners  are  thrust  out.  Even 
the  public-house  is  emptied  of  the  drunkards,  who 
come  out  in  stark  amazement.  The  stranger,  like 
Jonah  in  Nineveh,  has  come  no  one  knows  whence. 


2/0  Infidel  Mockers. 

He  stands  alone,  calm,  bold,  and  solemn,  as  if  he 
had  just  come  out  of  eternity.  With  prophet-like 
authority,  he  cries,  "Prepare  to  meet  thy  God!" 
As  night  falls,  the  voice  waxes  louder  and  louder, 
and  many  of  those  rough  miners  tremble.  The  ser- 
vice closes  with  an  appeal  to  the  great  I  Am,  and 
the  people  somehow  feel  they  are  in  the  presence 
of  God  as  they  have  never  been.  The  preacher 
then  takes  his  way  along  the  street,  and  improves 
the  awakening  interest  by  speaking  of  Christ  and 
eternity  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  as  they 
stand  at  their  doors.  Coming  to  the  public-house, 
he  goes  up  and  says  with  great  tenderness,  "Ah, 
men,  prepare  to  meet  your  God ! "  Words  cannot 
describe  the  feelings  of  the  villagers  that  night. 
The  whole  affair  is  so  novel,  so  unexpected,  so  con- 
science-moving. It  was  as  if  God  had  suddenly 
come  to  the  village,  as  He  was  then  coming  to  many 
a  village  in  the  land.  What  was  too  httle  consid- 
ered. He  was  come  not  to  stay  but  to  pass  on. 

In  another  mining  village,  known  to  the  writer, 
he  was  violently  opposed  by  a  band  of  infidel  mock- 
ers, Avho  came  to  the  meetings  for  the  purpose  of 
turning  the  evangelist  and  the  work  into  ridicule. 
For  a  time,  it  seemed  as  if  they  should  carry  every 
thing  their  own  way.  Strong  in  the  hardness  of 
their  hearts  and  their  unholy  league,  they  laughed 
and  jeered.  The  evangelist  marked  their  conduct, 
and  having  offered  prayer  for  theu'  conversion,  drew 
his  bow  at  a  venture.     One  of  the  scoffers  was  ar- 


A  Sinall  Congregation.  271 

rested  and  turned  to  Christ.  Henceforth  he  sepa- 
rated hnnself  from  his  companions,  who  only  seemed 
to  grow  more  profane.  Next  night  they  retm-ned 
to  the  meeting  to  scoff.  Again  one  of  those  high- 
handed sinners  was  prostrated  by  grace,  and  the 
mocker  began  to  pray.  Again  and  again  was  this 
advanced  guard  of  Satan  thinned  by  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  till  at  length  only  one  remained,  and  he 
the  worst  of  all.  It  seemed  as  if  he  would  hold  out. 
At  last,  however,  the  thought  took  possession  of  him, 
"  Am  I  to  be  left  to  go  to  hell  alone  ?"  That  led  to 
his  conversion.  This  triumph  of  grace  made  a  pro- 
found impression  on  the  unconverted  people  of  the 
district,  and  the  work  of  God  made  remarkable  prog- 
ress at  that  time,  the  fruits  of  which  are  strikingly 
apparent  at  the  present  day. 

He  found  his  way  into  places  where  gates  were 
barred  against  all  evangelistic  effort.  "  You  need 
not  attempt  to  go  there,"  said  his  friends,  speaking 
of  a  certain  country  town  in  the  north.  "The  min- 
isters have  told  the  people  that  the  revival  is  a  delu- 
sion ;  nobody  wants  you,  and  you  will  get  none  to 
hear  you."  Not  discouraged  by  the  failure  of  at- 
tempts made  by  others,  he  resolved  to  go.  After 
praying  for  a  blessing,  he  went,  hired  a  hall  for  a 
week,  announced  his  meetings,  and  commenced  at 
the  appointed  hour.  Not  a  soul  appeared:  undis- 
puted victory  seemed  to  remain  with  spiritual  apa- 
thy. Most  men  would  have  looked  on  the  empty 
hall  as  an  mtimation  of  the  will  of  God  to  depart 


2/2  Extraordinary  Power. 

and  seek  a  more  promising  field ;  but  our  evangelist 
opened  his  book,  and  saying,  "  Let  us  praise  God," 
sang  one  of  David's  psalms,  with  someAvhat  of  Da- 
vid's spirit.  Thereafter  he  said,  "  Let  us  pray,"  and 
proceeded  to  pray  aloud,  as  if  all  the  town  Avere  there, 
As  the  prayer  was  closing,  a  little  boy  dropped  in, 
and  sat  doAvn  AAath  all  a  child's  Avonder  and  simpli- 
city. The  Word  Avas  read,  the  text  announced,  and 
the  sermon  preached,  the  great  voice  ringing  and 
reverberating  strangely  in  the  empty  hall.  Ere  the 
close,  tAvo  or  three  men  came  stealing  in  from  sheer 
curiosity,  to  see  "  a  man  preaching  to  nobody,"  and 
sat  as  near  the  door  as  they  could.  The  serA^ce 
ended,  and  the  preacher  announced  that  having 
made  an  engagement  Avith  the  great  God  to  meet 
Him  for  prayer,  praise,  and  preaching  of  his  Gospel 
in  that  hall  on  every  night  of  the  week,  he  Avould 
be  there,  God  helping  him,  at  the  same  hour  on  the 
following  evening,  come  Avhat  might,  come  who 
may.  Next  night  more  came  from  curiosity,  and 
ere  the  week  closed  the  hall  Avas  croAvded  by  an  at- 
tentive, and  in  some  instances  aAvakened  audience. 
Faith  triumj)hed.  Bolts  and  bars  of  triple  steel 
gave  way  before  the  invisible  artillery  of  believing 
prayer.  Our  evangelist  once  more  realized  our  Sa- 
viour's words — "All  things  are  possible  to  him  that 
belie  veth." 

In  another  part  of  the  country,  the  name  of  Avhich 
I  forbear  to  mention,  an  extraordinary  power  at- 
tended the  Avord  one  night.     The  distress  of  the 


David  Sandeman  and  James  Allen.       273 

awakened  was  exceeding  great,  and  the  individual 
who  presided  at  the  meeting,  becoming  alarmed,  or- 
dered the  people  to  retire  to  their  own  homes.  It 
seemed  a  hard  case  for  those  weeping  inquirers  to 
be  sent  away  without  an  opportunity  being  afforded 
them  of  stating  their  difficulties  and  hearing  an  an- 
swer to  the  great  question  then  and  there.  The 
meeting-house  was  cleared,  and  as  the  key  turned 
heavily  in  the  lock,  these  unsophisticated  children 
of  the  soil  stood  about  the  door  and  wept.  "  Go 
home,"  it  was  said  to  them.  " Go  home! "  they  ex- 
claimed. "We  are  going  down  to  hell;  and  what 
are  we  to  do  ?  "  Seizing  the  arm  of  the  evangelist 
and  his  companion,  they  begged  them  as  servants 
of  Jesus  Christ  not  to  leave  them.  That  night  the 
woods  resounded  with  their  cries  to  God  for  mercy 
as  they  went  away. 

Duncan's  labors  were  much  blessed  at  Hillliead,  a 
mining  district  near  Glasgow,  where  there  was  a 
considerable  movement  in  1865.  This  place  has 
been  singularly  favored  of  the  Lord.  Here  that 
Christ-like  missionary,  David  Sandeman,  preached 
and  prayed  and  wept  for  souls.  Sometimes  he  tar- 
ried at  the  throne  of  grace  all  night,  and  towards 
dawn  he  could  be  heard  saying,  "The  whole  district, 
Lord — the  whole  district!  I  cannot  ask  less."  "He 
made  every  body  love  him,"  say  the  people  still. 
Here  too  James  Allen,  who,  like  David  Sandeman, 
went  to  an  early  rest  with  Jesus,  preached  with 
Baptist-like  solemnity  and  power.  Of  him  the  peo- 
18 


274  From  South  to  North, 

pie  say,  "  He  brocht  eternity  doon  about  us."  It  was 
Matheson's  privilege  largely  to  reap  what  these 
faithful  men  and  other  earnest  laborers  still  living 
had  sown  in  the  unpromising  soil  of  Billhead. 
Night  after  night  he  continued  the  services  there 
amidst  striking  displays  of  divine  grace.  At  the 
close  of  the  meetings,  often  near  the  hour  of  mid- 
night, when  he  tore  himself  away  from  the  group  of 
men  in  the  agony  of  conviction,  he  trudged  his 
weary  way  for  miles  through  the  deep  snow  to  the 
neighboring  city  of  Glasgow,  where  necessity  com- 
pelled him  to  lodge.  Next  night,  however,  invari- 
ably found  him  back  at  his  loved  work  as  cheery 
as  ever. 

His  circuit  was  now  a  very  extensive  one.  At  one 
time — July,  1864 — we  find  him  preaching  at  Dover, 
where  several  officers  of  the  army  are  converted,  and 
ere  the  month  is  out  he  is  in  the  extreme  north  labor- 
ing amongst  the  Highlanders  at  the  herring-fishing 
at  Wick.  Now  he  is  raising  his  voice  on  Glasgow 
Green,  where  during  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years 
many  a  soul  has  been  saved ;  by  and  by  he  is  rang- 
ing the  lonely  glens  of  Sutherland  in  search  of  the 
lost  sheep.  Here  the  proclamation  of  free  grace  is 
blessed.  "  I  have  heard  that  Mr.  Matheson  was  rid- 
ing very  high,  that  he  was  preaching  assurance  to 

the  people  of ,"  said  a  pastor,  who  seemed  to 

think  that  the  Christian  is  safe  only  under  the 
shadow  of  Doubting  Castle.  "Is  it  not  a  matter 
about  which  we  should  be  sure?"  was  the  reply. 


Nezv  Years  Address.  275 

"  Oh,  you  women ! "  was  all  the  good  man  had  to 
say  in  defence  of  his  system  of  ultra-Calvinistic 
exclusiveness. 

In  1856,  when  lying  at  the  point  of  death  on  the 
scene  of  his  exhausting  labors  among  the  soldiers  in 
the  East,  he  had  asked  from  his  God  ten  years  more 
of  life  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  win  souls.  He  was 
now  entering  the  tenth  and  last  year ;  and  as  if  con- 
scious that  his  more  active  career  was  about  to  close, 
he  inserted  in  a  newspaper  the  following  address : 

1866. 

NEW  year's  address. 

Dear  Eeadee:  The  sand-glass  is  running  out.  Another 
year  is  gone !  Three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  past ! 
How  silently — yet  how  quickly  again — has  grain  after  gTain, 
particle  after  particle,  hour  after  hour,  dropped  in  this  glass. 
Deathless  hours  they  are  ;  uncounted,  unnoted,  and  for- 
gotten it  may  be  by  man,  but  every  falling  grain  has  been 
noted  by  God.  The  busy  pen  of  Heaven  has  been  mark- 
ing every  moment.  Ask  thyself  the  searching  question, 
"Has  it  been  with  me  a  happy  year  ?  It  has  brought  me 
nearer  Eternity;  but  has  it  brought  me  nearer  God?  Does 
it  find  me  better  fitted  for  Heaven,  with  more  of  the  pilgrim 
spirit  than  I  had  when  the  year  began  !  " 

What  a  time  for  serious  thought !  Another  new  year 
summons  thee  to  a  Pisgah-Mount — from  the  top  of  one  of 
life's  memorable  eminences  solemnly  to  review  time  past — ■ 
consider  time  present — and  prepare  for  time  to  come.  Cast, 
then,  thine  eye  on  the  past  year's  journey,  and  how  fuU  of 
impressive  recollection  is  the  retrospect ! 

God  has  been  dealing  with  thee  individually,  and  speak- 
ing to  thee  surely,  in  language  not  to  be  misunderstood. 


2/6  New  Years  Address. 

Hearest  tliou  not  tlie  rustling  wings  of  the  Angel  of  Death  ? 
Have  not  his  arrows  been  flying  fast  and  thick,  and  thou- 
sands made  his  victims  ?  Look  back  !  Seest  thou  that 
crowd  of  fresh-made  graves  ? — they  are  silent  preachers  to 
thee!  and  this  is  their  silent  text  and  sermon,  "  5e  ye  also 
readi/." 

Many  of  those  who  slumber  underneath  these  sods  were 
cut  down  without  a  note  of  preparation.  One  was  busied 
in  the  market-jDlace;  the  Angel  of  Judgment  met  him  thei^ey 
and  before  evening  he  was  dead!  Another  was  seated  at 
his  fireside,  planning  bright  thoughts  and  schemes  for  the 
future — he  never  saw  the  morrow's  sun.  Another  was  in 
company,  loud  in  godless  merriment,  and  breathing  out 
his  blasphemies — a  few  hours  more,  and  he  was  arraigned 
at  the  bar  of  God!  Another  flung  himself  prayerless  on 
his  nightly  pillow — next  morning  he  awoke — but  it  was — 
in  Eteknity  ! 

And,  reader,  has  He  spared  thee  ?  What !  cut  down  others 
and  left  thee  to  count  in  the  review  of  a  past  year — fig-tree 
after  fig-tree  blighted  and  fallen — and  yet  thyself,  the  most 
''barren  "  of  all — a  fruitless  cumberer — still  '■'■spared!  " 

Canst  thou  calculate  on  another  year  ?  Let  these  green 
graves  answer.  Another  year  ?  Thine  own  grave  may  be 
among  the  number  of  these  silent  preachers  on  another 
anniversary.  Who  can  tell  but  the  summons  may  even  now 
be  on  the  wing,  "  Get  thee  up  and  die  !  "  Thou  mayest  this 
time  next  year  be  reading  to  others  the  solemn  lesson  now 
read  to  thyself,  ' '  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  bat- 
tle to  the  strong." 

Dear  reader,  if  this  be  Si  possible  thing,  take  one  look  for- 
ward. If  the  arrow  of  death  were  indeed  during  this  com- 
ing jyear  to  mark  thee  out,  how  would  it  fare  with  thee  ? 
Couldst  thou  say  with  exulting  Paul,  when  he  had  the  pros- 
pect of  death  before  him,  "I  am  now  ready?  "  (2  Tim.  iv.  6.) 
Are  you  at  peace  with  God?    Are  you  resting  your  eternal 


In  the  Highlands.  277 

all  on  Lis  dear  Son?  Are  you  in  that  blessed  state  of  lioly 
weanedness  from  this  world,  and  holy  preparedness  for 
another  and  a  better,  that  "living  or  dying"  you  can  say 
and  feel  that  "you  are  Christ's  "? 

Would  the  angel  summons,  "Behold!  the  Bridegroom 
Cometh, "find  you  exclaiming  in  joyous  rapture,  "  Even  so! 
come  Lord  Jesus!  come  quickly"?  Would  you  be  ready 
to  pass  from  a  death  full  of  hope  to  a  judgment  divested  of 
all  terror — a  God  reconciled — an  immortahty  of  endless 
glory?  These  are  solemn  things  and  solemn  thoughts  ! 
Answer  them  on  thy  knees — with  the  solemnities  of  the 
past  year  hehind  thee — an  unseen  God  above  thee — a  great 
eternity  before  thee.     Answer  them  speedily  ! 

And  as  ye  begin  to  descend  the  mount  and  commence  the 
journey  of  a  new  year,  let  the  feeble  voice  of  the  old  one 
whisper  its  dying  accents  in  thine  ear,  ' '  Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  He  may  be  found:  call  ye  upon  Him  wliile  He  is  near;  " 
for  He  who  testifieth  these  things  saith,  ' '  Behold  I  come 
quickly  !  " 

"Time  is  earnest,  passing  by; 
Death  is  earnest,  drawing  nigh : 
Sinner,  wilt  thou  trifling  be  ? 
Time  and  death  appeal  to  thee  1 
Christ  is  earnest,  bids  thee  '  Come ; ' 
Paid  for  man  a  priceless  sum ! 
Wilt  thou  spurn  the  Saviour's  love 
Pleading  with  thee  from  above  ?  " 

Insekted  by  D.  Matheson. 
Perth,  Jan.  1,  1866. 

Early  in  the  year  we  find  him  in  the  north-west 
Highlands,  whence  he  writes : 

"Balmacara  House,  Lochalsh,  January  5th,  1866. 
I  am  here !  What  a  place  of  beanty,  yet  of  tempest 
and  storm !   I  left  Dingwall  yesterday  in  an  open  gig, 


278  All   Uncomfortable  C/ncrch. 

and  came  on  here  tlirongh  a  range  of  mountains 
covered  all  the  way  with  snow.  Now  and  then  it 
was  grand  going  along  lake  sides  and  then  down 
mountain  steeps.  It  was  very  cold,  and  we  had  at 
the  end  of  our  journey  very  heavy  showers.  I  am 
none  the  Avorse.  I  think  we  came  sixty -five  miles 
in  an  open  gig.  When  I  reached,  the  thunder  was 
rolling  and  lightning  flashing.  The  rain  fell  in  tor- 
rents. In  summer  it  must  be  a  glorious  place.  The 
peojDle  are  scattered,  and  my  work  is  laid  out  for 

next  week.     IMay  the  Lord  guide !     Captain  0 , 

his  wife,  her  sister,  and  daughter,  are  here.  They 
are  kind  to  me.  He  is  a  good,  good  man.  My  work 
will  not  be  amongst  large  companies,  for  few  under- 
stand English.  Pray  that  the  Lord  may  bless  my 
eff'orts.  I  have  a  meeting  to-night,  and  to-morrow, 
Sabbath,  here. 

"Balmacara  House,  January  8th.  Yesterday  Mr. 
Colville  joined  us.  We  drove  to  church — a  most 
uncomfortable  one.  No  plaster,  no  roof — only  the 
bare  boards,  no  flooring.  The  minister  is  a  good 
man.  It  was  a  good  sermon.  We  drove  back,  sing- 
ing all  the  way  till  the  very  hills  rang  again.  At 
Ave  we  dined,  and  at  seven  we  met  in  a  shed.  It 
was  packed  with  people,  some  having  come  six  or 
eight  miles.  I  preached  first,  and  then  Mr.  Colville. 
The  people  were  intensely  interested,  and  about 
twenty  waited  after  the  meeting.  At  ten  o'clock 
we  left.  We  meet  there  to-night  again.  It  is  a 
poor,  poor  country,  but  very  beautiful  to  look  upon. 


At  Plockton. 


279 


You  see  nothing  but  green  mountains  and  moun- 
tains covered  with  snow.  I  am  to  be  very  busy. 
I  wish  you  were  here.  I  always  Hke  you  to  see 
any  thing  that  is  grand. 

"January  9th.  We  are  working  away.  The  peo- 
ple seem  very  dead.  It  is  a  lovely  spot ;  but  how 
sad  to  see  people  going  down  to  hell  unmoved !  I 
feel  deeply  for  the  people,  but  as  yet  have  no  power. 
.  .  .  Oh  for  a  blessing !  Life  is  ebbing  fast  away. 
Eternity  is  near.     Pray  for  me. 

"January  10th.  At  4  p.m.  yesterday  we  started 
with  the  carriage  over  the  hills.  It  was  a  grand 
drive.  Now  and  then  we  had  to  come  out  and  walk, 
as  the  hills  were  so  steep.  Coming  to  a  ferry,  we 
crossed,  singing  all  the  way  in  the  boat.  In  a  vil- 
lage on  the  other  side  we  got  a  school,  and  held  a 

meeting,  Mr.  C and  Captain  0 with  me.    I 

preached ;  and,  blessed  be  God,  I  had  great  freedom 
and  power.  The  Lord  helped  me.  I  was  happy  in 
my  soul.  Mr.  C followed.  In  the  second  meet- 
ing we  saw  awakened  souls. 

"January  13th.  I  have  to  go  some  six  miles  over 
the  hills  to  Plockton,  the  place  of  my  father's  birth. 
I  have  seen  some  poor  Highland  girls  here.  It  would 
be  a  good  thing  to  get  places  for  them ;  they  are  so 
faithful  and  trustworthy.  Poor  things,  I  feel  for 
them.  In  the  snow  many  of  them  have  no  shoes. 
I  am  glad  I  am  come  to  this  place.  I  have  seen 
much  of  the  country  and  people.  It  shows  me  the 
value  of  my  work  among  the  Highlanders."     The 


28o  Prayers  for  Forfar. 

work  to  which  he  here  refers  was  chiefly  the  reli- 
gious books  which  he  was  getting  translated  into 
Gaelic,  and  circulated  freely,  or  sold  at  a  mere  nom- 
inal price,  throughout  the  Highlands. 

In  course  of  the  summer  we  find  him  in  Nairn, 
Inverness,  Koss,  Sutherland,  and  Caithness.  Ke- 
tuming  south,  he  preaches  at  the  fair  in  Glasgow; 
and  from  that  city  he  proceeds  to  Laurencekirk, 
Bervie,  Kirriemuir,  and  other  places  in  the  eastern 
and  central  counties. 

On  Aug.  4th  he  went  to  Forfar,  whence  he  writes : 
"I  have  only  fifteen  minutes,  passing  through.  A¥e 
had  good  meetings  last  night,  open-air  and  indoors. 
I  hope  God  blessed  the  word ;  but  the  place  is  hard, 
and  the  people  sadly  indifferent.  The  whole  land 
seems  at  ease.  Few  are  seeking  God;  few  are  car- 
ing for  God.  I  often  feel  it  deeply.  Cholera  is 
not  apparently  decreasing.  The  voice  is  loud  and 
solemn.  Nothing,  however,  will  do  but  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

For  Forfar  he  had  often  prayed.  Frequently,  as 
he  passed  it  by  rail,  he  raised  his  voice  in  prayer 
for  the  salvation  of  its  people.  "When  I  die,"  he 
said,  "you  will  find  Forfar  written  on  my  heart." 
"If  God  would  only  bless  Forfar,"  he  said,  character- 
istically, "  I  would  be  content  to  stand  and  hold  Har- 
rison Ord's  hat  while  he  preached."  His  prayers 
were  now  to  be  answered,  and  his  longings  in 
measure  gratified.  Early  in  September  he  went  to 
Forfar,  took  lodgings,  obtained  the  use  of  a  school- 


Prayer  Anszvercd  at  Forfar,  281 

room  for  liis  meetings,  and  commenced  in  the  open 
air  and  within  doors.  For  paying  the  necessary  ex- 
penses means  were  hberally  furnished  by  Christian 
gentlemen  whose  sole  interest  in  this  town  was  the 
salvation  of  the  lost. 

"Forfar,  Monday,  September  10th,  1866.  Praise 
the  Lord,  He  has  begun  his  work.  We  commenced 
at  seven  on  the  street  on  Saturday.  A  great  crowd 
gathered  round.  They  listened  breathlessly.  It  was 
a  blessed  meeting.  I  have  seldom  seen  such  a  sol- 
emn meeting  on  the  streets.  At  eight  we  went  to 
the  school.  A  good  company  were  present.  At  close 
some  waited  in  anxiety  to  be  spoken  Avith.  We  did 
not  leave  till  ten. 

"Yesterday  Hopkins,  Boswell  and  I  went  through 
the  streets  giving  tracts  and  speaking.  We  had  sol- 
emn talk  with  the  people.  At  six  we  met  on  the 
green.  About  one  thousand  were  present.  God 
helped  us  all  wondrously.  He  gave  a  very  solemn 
address.  The  people  hung  on  our  lips.  We  then 
went  to  church.  About  four  hundred  came.  It  was 
a  very  solemn  meeting.  Earely  did  I  ever  feel  such 
power  at  a  meeting.  About  a  hundred  remained 
to  the  second  meeting.  Some  ten  or  twelve  were 
really  anxious.     We  could  hardly  get  the  church 

cleared.     Mr.  C ,  who  had  been  preaching  in  a 

village,  came  and  had  a  meeting  for  the  anxious  in 
the  street.  Some  one  asked  them  in.  He  had  to 
speak  till  eleven  o'clock.  Some  evidently  found  the 
Lord.     Is  it  not  blessed?     I  praise  the  Lord.     The 


282  A  Blessed  Meeting. 

Lord  send  floods.  It  is  sweet  to  see  such  fruit  at 
first. 

"September  13th.  What  a  night  we  had  last 
night.  I  shall  never  forget  it.  We  met  at  one 
o'clock,  and  spoke  in  a  small  street;  at  seven  H. 
Ord  at  the  Cross,  and  Hopkins  and  I  took  another 
place.  We  then  collected  all  into  a  school.  It  was 
packed.  At  close,  going  out,  they  laughed,  swore, 
and  mocked.  Within  we  spoke  to  anxious  souls,  a 
few ;  and  outside  I  tried  to  control  the  rabble.  Oh, 
how  obscene  they  were !  It  seemed  as  if  the  devil 
had  entered  into  them.  At  ten  o'clock  we  could 
hardly  get  the  gate  shut.  We  go  to  Mr.  M'Phail's 
church  to-night,  as  the  school  is  too  small.  This  is 
a  fearful  place.  No  tongue  can  tell  its  sin.  I  do 
pray  that  God  may  convert  many.  Nothing  is  too 
hard  for  Him. 

"September  14th.  The  work  goes  on.  God  will 
work  here  yet,  I  do  believe,  wondrously.  We  wait, 
we  long,  we  pray. 

"September  18th.  We  had  good  meetings  last 
night.  We  only  want  more  power — more  power 
from  on  high.  A  breath  would  fan  much  that  is 
now  smouldering  into  a  flame.  We  had  some  anx- 
ious ones  last  night.  Pray  for  me,  and  very  spe- 
cially for  Forfar.  The  time  is  short.  It  is  passing 
away.  It  will  soon  be  done.  Some  thirty  attend 
our  daily  prayer-meeting  at  noon. 

"  October  3d.  We  had  a  blessed  meeting  last 
night.     I  was  very  ill  yesterday,  but  to-day  am 


Preparation  for  the  Orkneys.  283 

quite  well.  It  was  a  very  solemn  meeting,  and  sev- 
eral were  brought  to  peace  at  close.  One,  a  farm- 
er's daughter,  was  a  very  decided  case.  All  yester- 
day I  had  much  freedom.  The  work  here  is  truly 
a  very  decided  one.  We  find  every  night  some 
new  cases.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  get  something  to 
cheer.  Oh,  rejoice  in  the  blessing  descending !  We 
have  trial,  but  we  have  many  blessings.  We  shall 
have  a  kingdom  yet  and  a  crown  of  glory. 

"  October  15th.  We  had  a  very  remarkable  night 
at  the  Cross  on  Saturday.  About  one  thousand 
came  to  hear.  We  went  to  the  school  at  eight 
o'clock.  Last  night  (Sabbath)  was  a  great  night  in 
the  church — great  every  way.  I  had  much  freedom. 
Truly  the  Lord  spoke  through  me.  /  never  left  a 
•place  ivith  such  regret,  never  in  twenty  years.  The 
work  seems  only  beginning." 

In  November  he  went  north  to  the  feeing  mar- 
kets, and  on  his  return  visited  Forfar,  to  find  pre- 
cious and  abundant  fruits  of  his  trying  labors  there. 
The  end  of  the  year  found  him  at  home,  making 
preparations  for  an  evangelistic  journey  to  the 
Orkneys. 


284  His  Manner  of  Living 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

HIS  MANNER  OF  LIVING  AND  MODE  OF  WORKING. 

During  the  last  years  of  his  active  life  our  evan- 
gelist prosecuted  his  work  with  unflagging  zeal.  He 
never  rested  save  when  he  slept.  He  was  often 
weary ;  but  the  more  he  was  spent  in  the  service  of 
Jesus,  the  more  he  loved  the  work.  Indecision 
never  brought  him  to  a  stand-still.  The  silken  cords 
of  sloth  never  detained  him.  Every  minute  was  an 
opportunity,  and  every  opportunity  was  seized  with 
an  almost  stern  promptitude.  Through  the  grace 
given  him  he  could  say,  "  I  do  not  know  that  ten 
minutes  of  my  life  ever  pass  without  thinking  of  the 
salvation  of  souls."  His  motto  was,  "  Whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might;  for 
there  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor 
wisdom,  in  the  grave  whither  thou  goest."  Often, 
when  exhausted  and  sick,  did  he  say,  "  Ah,  I  know 
the  deep  meaning  of  those  words,  '  There  remaineth 
therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God ; ' "  and  the  hope 
of  that  rest  roused  him,  weary  and  ill  though  he 
was,  to  fresh  efforts  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  Let 
us  see  how  he  spent  his  days. 

The  first  part  of  the  morning  was  given  to  prayer 
and  reading  the  Word.  Thus  he  refreshed  his  own 
spirit,  and  found  a  portion  for  others.  To  Christians 
he  happened  to  meet  he  was  wont  to  say,  "  Here  is 


and  Mode  of  Working.  285 

a  sweet  morsel  for  you — I  have  been  rolling  it  like 
candy-sugar  in  my  mouth  all  the  day."  The  por- 
tions of  Scripture  in  which  he  found  comfort  were 
sometimes  such  as  would  not  readily  occur  to  others. 
For  example,  he  would  say,  "  I  cannot  tell  you  how 
much  comfort  I  have  found  in  this  word,  '  If  the 
righteous  scarcely  be  saved.'  I  find  it  so  hard  for 
me  to  be  saved  that  I  often  fear  I  will  never  get 
into  the  kingdom ;  but  then  when  I  read  that  those 
who  are  saved  are  saved  with  difficulty,  with  just 
such  a  struggle  as  I  have,  I  feel  encom-aged." 

In  the  earlier  years  of  his  course  he  spent  part 
of  the  morning  in  sketching  or  writing  fully  out  his 
sermons  and  addresses.  A  specimen  of  his  outlines 
may  be  given ; 

FOLLOWING    AFAR    OFF. 
"But  Peter  followed  Him  afar  off, "—Matt.  xxvi.  58. 

I.  Point  out  those  that  follow  Christ  afar  off.  1. 
Those  who  have  some  love,  but  grace  is  weak.  2. 
Those  who  are  ashamed  to  confess  Christ  before 
men.  3.  Those  who  walk  inconsistently.  4.  Those 
who  do  not  heartily  promote  Christ's  cause. 

II.  The  causes  of  following  Christ  afar  oif.  1. 
Weakness  of  faith.  2.  Fear  of  man.  3.  Attach- 
ment to  earthly  things.     4.  Self-confidence. 

III.  The  sin  and  danger  of  following  Christ  afar 
ojff.  1.  It  is  not  honorable.  2.  It  is  not  reasonable. 
3.  It  is  not  comfortable.     4.  It  is  not  safe. 

Part  of  his  time  was  daily  occupied  in  letter-writ- 


286  His  Publications. 

ing.  A  beniglited  soul  needs  direction,  a  young  con- 
vert needs  warning,  a  persecuted  Christian  needs 
encouragement,  a  backslider  needs  healing,  a  poor 
saint  needs  money,  a  fellow-laborer  needs  succor: 
short,  incisive,  business-like  notes  winged  with  light 
are  quickly  on  their  way.  In  one  letter  he  pleads 
the  case  of  a  neglected  and  poverty-stricken  sufferer 
whom  he  has  discovered  in  some  out  of  the  way 
hovel.  In  another  he  offers  to  find  means  for  build- 
ing a  bridge  over  a  Highland  stream  far  away  in 
the  north,  and  as  he  m-ges  the  prosecution  of  the 
work  with  the  greatest  earnestness,  you  would  fan- 
cy, if  you  did  not  know  the  man,  that  the  erection 
was  a  matter  of  pecuniary  interest  to  him,  instead 
of  being,  as  it  was,  an  affair  of  pure  benevolence. 
In  all  his  letters  he  seems  to  breathe  the  air  of  eter- 
nity. "Oh,  how  near  eternity  seems!"  is  his  con- 
stant exclamation.  Death,  judgment,  heaven,  and 
hell  are  realities  never  lost  sight  of;  and  in  the  fore- 
front of  every  epistle,  however  brief,  stands  the  name 
of  the  Master,  too  dear  to  be  ever  forgotten  by  the 
fond  disciple — Jesus  Christ,  Saviour  of  sinners.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  by  his  letters,  so  prompt, 
wise,  affectionate,  full  of  the  Spirit  and  of  eternity, 
he  was  instrumental  in  conveying  light  and  comfort 
to  thousands. 

His  publications,  and  the  circulation  of  books  and 
tracts,  formed  part  of  his  daily  care  and  work,  both 
at  home  and  in  his  evangelistic  journeys.  When- 
ever or  wherever  you  met  him,  you  found  him  bring- 


''The  Two  Roads r  287 

ing  out  or  putting  into  cii'culation  some  fresh  tract 
or  book.  He  studied  the  signs  of  the  times.  None 
knew  better  than  he  the  tastes  of  his  countrymen 
and  the  wants  of  the  day.  For  instance,  he  brought 
out  a  cheap  edition  of  Hoge's  "  Bhnd  Bartimeus,"  and 
got  it  chculated  in  many  thousands  dm'ing  the  wide- 
spread awakening  of  1859-61.  He  took  the  pains, 
and  risk  too,  of  getting  it  translated  into  Gaehc ;  and 
"  BKnd  Bartimeus  "  was  sent  up  many  a  Highland 
glen,  and  into  many  a  sequestered  nook,  to  tell  of 
Him  who  openeth  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  and  saith 
in  his  love  to  every  needy  child  of  man,  "  What  wilt 
thou  that  I  should  do  imto  thee  ?  "  His  edition  of 
Brooks's  "  Cabinet  of  Choice  Jewels  "  was  seasona- 
ble and  useful.  For  example,  it  was  instrumental  in 
the  conversion  of  a  young  man  who  is  now  a  zeal- 
ous Sabbath-school  teacher  and  elder  in  the  Free 
Church.  At  one  time  we  find  him  printing  and 
circulating  300,000  tracts  ringing  with  the  genuine 
truth  of  the  Gospel.  Of  this  kind  of  literature,  in 
fact,  he  circulated  whole  tons.  He  procured  the 
translation  into  Gaelic  of  many  little  books  which 
were  gratuitously  distributed,  or  sold  at  a  merely 
nominal  price. 

To  bring  the  Gospel  before  the  eyes  of  careless 
men  he  frequently  devised  new  methods.  For  in- 
stance, immense  placards  with  "The  Two  Koads" 
described,  being  the  substance  of  a  discourse  on  the 
wide  and  strait  gates,  met  your  eye  everywhere  in 
town  and  country.     I  have  seen  it  on  the  wall  of  a 


288        Scraping  Down  the  Devils  Songs. 

populous  town  in  the  strange  company  of  quack 
advertisements  and  theatre  bills,  and  have  heard 
one  passer-by  say  to  another,  "  Stop,  Jim,  here's  a 
new  style  o't."  They  stopped,  and  read  the  old  Gos- 
pel in  a  new  style.  I  have  seen  it  hanging  up  in  a 
saw-mill  in  the  corner  of  a  dense  wood  in  a  wild 
Highland  glen,  where  all  who  trafficked  in  timber 
read  its  sharp,  soul-piercing  truths  amidst  the  dust 
and  noise.  It  found  its  way  into  the  ploughman's 
bothy.     "What   are   you   doing?"  said  one  to  a 

couple  of  ploughmen  in  F shire,  who,  with  hoe 

in  hand,  were  scraping  the  walls  of  their  bothy. 
"Ou,  sir,"  was  the  reply,  "we're  just  scrapin'  aff  the 
deevil's  sangs,  and  we're  gaun  to  put  up  Christ's  in 
their  place."  At  this  juncture  the  foreman  making 
his  appearance  angrily  forbade  their  proceeding  fur- 
ther in  the  ornamentation  of  the  walls,  but  the  men 
stoutly  made  reply,  "  Deed,  you  never  said  a  word 
again'  oor  swearin'  and  singin'  coorse  sangs,  and 
surely  you'll  nae  hinner's  frae  worshippin'  and  prais- 
in'  God !  Na,  na ;  we'll  dae  naething  o'  the  sort  as 
stop.  We'll  hae  doon  the  deevil's  sangs,  and  put 
up  Christ's."  "  The  Two  Roads,"  with  sundry  hymns 
and  spiritual  songs  were  then  pasted  in  the  most  con- 
spicuous places. 

He  was  watchful  against  the  spread  of  error.  Of 
all  he  ever  published  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
sentence  that  could  be  fairly  construed  to  mean  error, 
or  be  held  as  likely  to  mislead  a  soul.  Every  little 
book  had  its  mission ;  every  tract  was  a  messenger 


I 


Visitations.  289 

sent  in  the  name  of  God.  One  was  to  awaken  and 
alarm;  another  was  to  warn  and  reprove;  a  third 
was  to  persuade  and  win ;  a  fourth  summoned  to  de- 
cision ;  a  fifth  was  fitted  to  comfort  and  sanctify ; 
and  all  wore  sent  forth  in  the  name  of  Christ  to  seek 
and  save  the  lost.  Taking  into  account  the  quality 
and  quantity  of  the  seed,  the  breadth  of  deeply-fur- 
rowed soil  that  was  sown  in  those  days,  when  God's 
great  ploughshare  was  running  sharply  through  the 
fallow  ground  and  virgin  soil  of  Scotland  amidst 
sweet  April-like  alternations  of  sunshine  and  shower 
that  then  gladdened  our  happy  land,  it  may  be  safe- 
ly affirmed  that  the  fruits  could  have  been  neither 
few  nor  small. 

All  the  profits  of  the  publishing  business  went  to 
the  gratuitous  circulation  of  the  particular  tract  or 
book  then  in  hand.  Although  the  entire  burden 
lay  on  himself,  his  admirable  business  capacity  and 
methodic  habits  enabled  him  to  keep  his  accounts 
with  perfect  accuracy,  and  thus  amidst  a  multitude 
of  affairs  to  avoid  confusion,  if  not  also  loss.  It  was 
but  a  subordinate  part  of  his  evangelistic  work.  The 
risk,  indeed,  was  considerable,  and  the  labor  im- 
mense ;  but  he  sought  no  recompense  save  the  re- 
ward that  shines  afar,  and  shines  only  to  the  clear 
eye  of  faith. 

A  portion  of  the  day  was  invariably  spent  in  visit- 
ing the  sick,  the  aged,  and  the  friendless.  For  this 
kind  of  work  he  possessed  a  peculiar  fitness,  and  in 
it  he  found  a  peculiar  joy.  "You  will  miss  your 
19 


290  His  Conversation. 

friend  Mr.  Matheson,"  I  said  to  a  Christian  couple  of 
feeble  health  and  straitened  circumstances.  "  Deed, 
sir,"  was  the  reply,  "we'll  miss  him  sair.  He  had  a 
gey  traffic  wi'  us,  an'  he  was  aye  sae  cheery.  An' 
mair  than  that,  his  hand  was  aye  as  ready  wi'  hia 
ain  siller  as  his  tongue  was  wi'  God's  promises. 
Mony  a  time  he  cam'  in  an'  got's  greetin,'  an'  he  wag 
sure  to  leave's  laughin."  Hes  past  the  mournin'  noo ; 
he's  weel  hame,  an'  we  a'  maun  try  an'  win  hame 
tae.  But  'deed,  sir,  we'll  miss  him  sair."  Into  many 
a  garret  and  cellar  he  carried  the  sunshine  of  an 
unclouded  cheerfulness.  His  divinity  was  always 
served  out  with  much  humanity.  Rare  humors  of 
fancy  mingled  with  his  spiritual  sayings,  and  seemed 
no  more  out  of  place  than  children  playing  under 
the  shadow  of  a  great  cathedral,  or  birds  singing  in 
a  churchyard.  As  playful  winds,  seemingly  of  little 
use  in  nature,  precede  the  genial  rain,  so  his  droll- 
eries prepared  the  way  for  those  tender  touches  of 
the  deeper  heart  that  call  forth  tears.  Heavenly 
thoughts  arrayed  in  symbols  of  the  earth  imparted 
interest  to  his  talk.  His  conversation — proverbial, 
quaint,  suggestive,  always  genial  and  often  power- 
ful— was  scarcely  less  useful  than  his  preaching. 

To  a  timid  young  Christian  he  said,  "Be  what 
God  meant  you  to  be — a  man."  To  one  whom  he 
deemed  unpractical  he  said,  "  Be  real."  To  a  flighty 
one,  "The  Lord  will  clip  your  wings  some  day." 
To  a  newly-married  couple,  "Mind  this;  A  man  can- 
na   grow  in  grace  unless  his  wife  let  him."     To 


Good  Advice,  291 

students  preparing-  for  the  ministry,  "Lads,  tak'  a 
guid  grip  o'  God;"  an  advice  which  some  of  them 
appear  to  have  laid  to  heart.  To  warn  them  against 
the  deadening  effect  of  classical  studies  he  said, 
"Mind,  Christ  was  crucified  between  Greek  and 
Latin."     To  a  student  who  seemed  to  him  to  be  in 

danger  of  intellectual  pride  he  said,  "  W ,  irdd- 

lectis  the  rock  you'll  split  on."  If  that  student,  now 
in  a  high  position  in  the  church,  has  not  made  ship- 
wreck, his  safety  may  be  in  measure  due  to  the  ad- 
vice of  his  outspoken  friend.     To  a  preacher  who 

had  crotchets  he  said,  "B ,  preach  Chrwt.'"     To 

one  who  was  becoming  a  separatist :  "You  are  doing 
the  very  thing  Satan  desires.  If  he  cannot  destroy 
a  child  of  God,  he  will  cripple  him  and  destroy  his 
usefulness."  To  a  Baptist  disposed  to  make  too 
much  of  the  water  he  said,  "Labor  to  bring  sinners 
to  the  blood.'" 

To  a  Christian  complaining  of  coldness:  "You 
are  cold  because  you  are  going  away  from  the 
fire:  keep  nearer  to  Christ''''  To  young  converts  he 
would  often  say,  "Keep  about  Christ's  hand."  "Few 
Christians  shine;  be  you  a  shining  one."  "If  you 
wish  to  get  far  hen  in  heaven,  keep  near  Christ  on 
earth."  "You'll  aye  get  what  you  go  in  for,"  was 
his  'homely  way  of  stating  an  important  principle 
of  the  divine  administration. 

To  a  desponding  believer  he  said,  "What  would 
you  sell  youi'  hope  for?"  "I  would  not  sell  my 
hope   for  worlds,"  was  the   reply.     "Well,  then," 


292  Fear  of  Being  a  Hypocrite, 

said  lie,  "you  are  very  rich,  and  need  not  droop." 
"Oh,  but  I  am  so  dead!"  said  another.  "I  never 
heard  the  dead  complain  in  that  way,"  was  his 
reply. 

"A  lady,  an  earnest  Christian  worker,  whose 
creed  is  summed  up  in  these  three  articles,  "I 
believe  in  heaven,  I  believe  in  hell,  and  I  believe 
in  the  third  chapter  of  the  Gospel  according  to 
John,"  said  to  him  one  day,  "Ah,  Mr.  Matheson, 
I  have  lost  my  peace  and  my  hope;  I  fear  I  am 
going  to  perish."  His  reply  was  characteristic: 
"What!  you  perish?  I  tell  you,  woman,  if  you 
went  to  hell,  the  devil  would  say,  'AVhat  is  that 
woman  doing  here,  aye  speaking  aboot  her  Christ? 
Put  her  out,  put  her  out,  put  her  out ! ' "  Curiously 
enough,  that  reply  brought  a  relief  to  her  mind 
which  much  reading,  prayer,  and  conference  with 
ministers  and  other  godly  friends  had  failed  to 
supply. 

To  young  religious  professors  he  said,  with  much 
feeling  and  solemnity,  "I  often  fear  lest  I  turn  out 
at  the  judgment  day  to  be  nothing  but  a  hypocrite." 
That  was  his  way  of  warning  them,  and  in  some 
cases  I  know  it  took  eifect.  More  than  one  of 
those  young  Christians,  awe-stricken,  went  home 
to  search  and  abase  themselves  before  God,  and  so 
were  saved  from  the  perils  of  self-confidence,  if  not 
also  from  delusions  that  ruin  the  soul.  The  fear  of 
being  a  hypocrite,  I  firmly  believe,  was  the  only 
fear  Duncan  Matheson  ever  knew. 


His  Godly  Jealousy.  293 

He  had  no  idea  of  the  uneducated  lay-preacher 
affecting  to  be  the  fine  gentleman  or  the  clergy- 
man. Meeting  two  young  lay-evangelists,  he  said, 
"So  you  have  become  grand  gentlemen,"  glancing 
at  the  same  time  at  their  new  and  finely-polished 
walking  canes.  "Away  with  these  showy  things, 
and  be   like  your   Master."     To  another  he  said, 

"L ,  when  did  you  become  a  minister?"     "I 

am  not  a  minister,"  was  the  reply.  "Well,  then," 
said  he,  "put  away  your  white  necktie,  and  just  be 
what  you  are,  no  more,  no  less."  Then  thrusting 
a  piece  of  gold  into  the  young  evangelist's  hand, 
he  said  in  his  kindliest  tone,  "This  is  to  help  to  pay 
your  expenses.  I  am  not  able  to  preach,  and  I  must 
be  doing  something  for  Jesus."  These  are  little 
matters,  but  they  serve  to  show  with  what  godly 
jealousy  he  watched  over  his  younger  brethren,  and 
how  keen  was  his  eye  to  discern  the  first  step  of 
pilgrims  into  Bye-path  Meadow. 

In  a  certain  place  where  evangelistic  meetings 
were  being  held,  the  lay-preachers,  among  whom 
was  Mr.  Matheson,  were  sumptuously  entertained 
at  the  house  of  a  Christian  gentleman.  After  din- 
ner they  went  to  the  meeting,  not  without  some 
difi*erence  of  opinion  as  to  the  best  method  of  con- 
ducting the  services  of  the  evening.  "The  Spirit 
is  grieved;  He  is  not  here  at  all,  I  feel  it,"  said 
one  of  the  younger,  with  a  whine  which  somewhat 
contrasted  with  his  previous  unbounded  enjoyment 
of  the  luxuries  of  the  table.     "Nonsense,"  replied 


294  Preachers  and  Preaching'. 

Matheson,  wlio  hated  all  wliining  and  morbid  spir- 
ituality ;  "nothing  of  the  sort.  You  have  just  eaten 
too  much  dinner,  and  you  feel  heavy." 

He  had  learned  how  to  abound  and  how  to  suffer 
want;  and  he  once  said,  "I  have  observed  during 
all  those  years  of  evangelistic  labor,  that  invariably 
when  I  have  enjoyed  most  blessing  in  the  work,  I 
have  suffered  the  greatest  hardships;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  when  I  have  been  dined,  and  feasted, 
and  carried  shoulder  high,  there  has  been  little 
good  done."  He  who  is  to  be  instrumental  in 
gathering  in  the  elect  of  God  must  taste  of  Geth- 
semane  and  Calvary.  Christ's  tools  are  tempered 
in  a  hot  furnace  and  sharpened  on  a  hard  grind- 
stone. Luxury  and  ease  are  bad  oils  for  the  chariot 
wheels  of  the  Gospel. 

Speaking  of  the  encouragement  given  by  the 
Master  to  a  young  evangelist  who  was  rejoicing  in 
his  first  success,  Matheson  said,  "The  Lord  gives 
these  young  soldiers  victory  without  a  wound ;  but 
when  ive  are  leaving  a  place  we  get  a  shot  in  the 
back  to  keep  us  humble  and  remind  us  that  the 
glory  belongs  to  Him."  He  was  very  tolerant  of 
the  faults  of  young  converts.  "The  Lord  winks  at 
their  blunders  and  foibles  because  they  don't  know 
better," he  would  say.  "Let  them  sing  away;  God 
Himself  will  teach  them  other  tunes." 

"There  is  no  use  in  your  coming  here,"  it  was 
said  to  him  in  a  certain  place;  "for  the  people 
won't  come  out  to  hear  the  ministers  themselves." 


Preachers  and  Preaching.  295 

"Well,  then,"  was  his  reply,  "if  they  will  not  come 
out  to  hear  broadcloth,  I  will  put  on  fustian."  He 
was  right. 

Of  pointless  and  unfaithful  preaching,  however 
pleasant  to  the  ear  or  agreeable  to  the  intellectual 
taste,  he  always  said,  "It  is  just  Nero  fiddling 
when  Kome  is  burning."  "That  was  an  excellent 
discourse,"  said  he  one  day,  after  hearing  a  sermon, 
"but  the  meshes  were  too  wide,  and  the  fish  would 
all  get  through." 

On  hearing  a  certain  preacher  praised  as  being 
a  fine  speaker,  he  said,  "Ay,  but  has  he  teeth?" 
He  often  quoted  a  saying  of  the  celebrated  divine, 
Dr.  John  Owen,  to  the  effect  that  no  preacher  was 
ever  successful  who  had  not  a  certain  "  tartness," 
pungent  power,  in  dealing  with  the  conscience.  Of 
those  preachers  who  by  a  skilful  management  of  the 
voice  make  pretence  of  emotion,  and  as  it  were  iveep 
to  order^  he  said,  "They  mimic  the  Holy  Ghost: 
what  presumption ! "  To  a  minister  he  said,  "  Preach 
hell.  Few  ministers  preach  it,  and  few  people  be- 
lieve in  it;  but  it  is  a  great  reality.''''  "Some  good 
preachers,"  he  said,  "are  much  too  long  in  their  dis- 
courses. They  put  me  in  mind  of  a  man  who,  after 
driving  a  nail  home,  keeps  hammering  at  its  head 
till  he  has  broken  it  and  spoilt  his  own  work."  He 
had  no  patience  with  ignorant  lay -preachers,  and 
often  said  to  the  young  men,  "  Lads,  sink  the  shaft 
deeper."  On  one  occasion  a  man,  imagining  he  had 
a  gift,  requested  permission  to  address  Mr.  Mathe- 


296  Genuine  Friends. 

son's  meeting.  This  granted,  the  resnlt  was  a  sad 
display  of  ignorance,  whereupon  our  evangehst,  tap- 
ping him  on  the  shoulder,  stopped  him,  saying, 
"That'll  do,  John,"  quaintly  and  significantly  add- 
ing, "  Man,  don't  you  know  the  Shorter  Catechism 
is  a  splendid  book  for  learners  ?  I  would  advise  you 
to  study  it  a  good  while  before  you  speak  in  public." 

He  was  a  good  deal  tried  by  the  fickleness  of 
friends,  and  he  would  often  say  of  such  as  were  not 
likely  to  stand  in  the  day  of  trial,  "  He  is  nae  to  ride 
the  water  wi',"  adding,  "  I  expect  to  have  no  more 
than  two  or  three  genuine  friends  when  I  come  to 
die."  Once,  when  he  was  fiercely  assailed  for  the 
Gospel's  sake,  a  man  addressed  him  in  terms  of 
warmest  friendship,  saying,  "  Mr.  Matheson,  I  will 
stand  your  friend."  Matheson,  casting  a  penetrat- 
ing glance  at  his  new  patron  took  his  measure,  and 
replied,  "  Aye,  aye.  You  will  stand  by  me  when  I 
am  right;  but  will  you  stand  by  me  when  I  am 
wrong  ?  When  I  am  right  I  don't  need  my  friends : 
I  can  stand  on  my  own  feet  then.  It's  when  I  am 
down  that  I  need  my  friends.  Man,  will  you  help 
me  when  I  am  in  the  mire  ?  " 

"  When  I  preached  at  W ,"  he  was  wont  to 

tell  by  way  of  illustrating  a  weak  point  in  the  friend- 
ship of  some,  "  and  gave  away  my  books  gratuit- 
ously, the  people  were  my  warm  friends,  and  used 
to  shake  my  hand  very  cordially ;  but  when  I  stood 
at  a  corner  with  a  clothes-basket  full  of  books  which 
I  offered  at  half  price,  the  good  people  did  not  recog- 


Pithy  Sayings.  297 

nize  me.  In  fact  they  had  suddenly  become  star- 
gazers,  and  passed  by  without  once  seeing  me." 

On  hearing  one  tell  with  apparent  self-compla- 
cency of  a  Christian  who  had  fallen,  he  said  with  a 
tenderness  of  feeling  that  made  the  reproof  all  the 
more  telling,  "Ah,  it's  him  the  day,  an'  me  the  morn." 
When  shown  a  calumnious  statement  made  against 
him  in  a  newspaper,  he  said  joyfully,  "  Man,  I  do 
like  a  little  dirt  cast  upon  me  for  the  dear  Master's 
sake.  I  think  Gabriel  would  shake  hands  with  me 
and  say,  'I  never  had  such  an  honor.'"  "Suffering 
persecution  for  righteousness'  sake,"  he  would  say, 
"  is  far  better  than  a  hundred  dying  testimonies  of 
those  who  never  did  or  suffered  any  thing  for  Jesus." 

"Mrs.  died  without  giving  any  testimony," 

said  one  of  whom  he  stood  in  doubt.  "  What  of 
that?"  was  his  reply;  "you  had  the  testimony  of 
her  Christian  life  for  forty  years.  If  that  be  not 
enough  to  convince  you,  then  hear  my  dying  testi- 
mony just  now : 

**  'I'm  a  poor  sinner,  and  nothing  at  all; 
But  Jesus  Christ  is  my  All  in  all. ' 

Do  you  believe  that  ?  " 

He  knew  how  to  make  a  ploughshare  of  an  ene- 
my's sword.  "This  is  no  time  for  preaching,"  said 
one  angrily  to  him  in  a  market.  "  Look  here,  friend," 
he  replied,  "you  believe  in  the  Word  of  God?" 
"Yes."  "Well,"  said  Matheson,  "it  is  written,  'Be 
instant  in  season  and  out  of  season.'    You  say  this 


298  Men  of  Strong  Passions. 

is  out  of  season.  Well,  we  are  just  doing  as  we 
are  commanded:  we  are  preaching  out  of  season." 
"These  are  men  of  strong  passions,"  was  the  sneer- 
ing remark  of  another  in  reference  to  our  evangelist 
and  his  fellow-laborers.  "Thank  God,"  said  Mathe- 
son,  "we  are  men  of  strong  passions.  He  has  made 
us  of  strong  passions  that  we  may  be  strong  in  his 
service."  Nothing  gave  him  greater  pain  than  a 
blow  dealt  by  a  fellow-Christian.  "An  offended 
child  of  God  gives  the  keenest  blow,"  he  used  to  say ; 
"he  knows  a  Christian's  tenderest  part."  Yet  even 
in  this  case  he  had  his  answer  ready,  "Now,  just  lay 
your  finger  on  the  commandment  I  have  broken,  and 
I  will  thank  you.     Which  of  the  ten  is  it?" 

In  one  place,  where  for  a  while  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  a  pastor,  some  who  were  sick  complained 
that  he  had  not  paid  them  a  visit.  "Did  you  send 
for  the  doctor?"  he  asked.  "Yes."  "Why,  then, 
did  you  not  send  for  me?  Is  it  because  you  care 
more  for  your  body  than  your  soul?" 

Another  in  similar  circumstances  said,  "You 
might  have  missed  me  out  of  church."  "You  are 
mistaken,"  was  his  reply.  "I  go  to  the  house  of 
God  as  a  worshipper  and  a  preacher,  not  as  a  c?e- 
^ec^we." 

When  the  managers  of  a  congregation  among 
whom  he  had  labored  with  every  token  of  success 
for  some  time  intimated  to  him  that  his  services 
would  be  no  longer  required,  as  they  could  secure 
a  preacher  for  ten  shillings  a  week,  he  said,  "Do 


Without  Money.  299 

you  think  you  will  get  the  worth  of  your  money?" 
To  this  sarcastic  question  no  answer  was  given. 
"Do  as  you  have  a  mind,"  he  went  on  to  say;  "but 
I  have  a  little  money  at  present,  and  can  preach  for 
nothing.  God  is  blessing  my  labors  here,  and  I  dare 
not  leave  the  place.  I  will  take  a  hall,  and  preach 
there."  On  hearing  all  this,  the  congregation  ral- 
lied around  him.  He  was  requested  to  remain,  and 
his  meetings  were  more  crowded  than  ever. 

His  reproofs  were  often  so  sweetened  with  humor 
that  no  oftence  was  given.  Seeing  several  persons 
coming  into  a  meeting  too  late,  he  said,  "In  the 
north  a  minister  observing  that  a  certain  woman, 
though  lame  and  scarcely  able  to  walk,  was  always 
first  at  church,  asked  her  how  she  managed  to 
come  so  early.  'Sir,'  she  replied,  'the  hert  gangs 
first,  and  the  feet  follow.' "  Those  who  come  late,  or 
for  some  insufficient  reason  never  come  at  all,  have 
been  well  named  "the  devil's  cripples."  Matheson 
did  not  spare  such,  and  sometimes  asked  if  any  one 
knew  how  they  always  grow  lame  every  seventh 

day. 

One  day  a  gentleman  called  on  him,  and  inquired 
if  he  knew  a  preacher  who  could  suitably  occupy  a 
vacant  pulpit  in  a  certain  large  city.  After  some 
conversation,  in  which  the  evangelist  endeavored 
to  ascertain  his  visitor's  ideal  of  a  good  minister, 

Matheson  said,  "By  the  bye,  do  you  know  Mr. , 

a  preacher  somewhere  in  your  neighborhood  ?    How 
would  he  do  with  you?"     "I  know  him,"  was  the 


300  An  Astotindcd  Visitor. 

reply.  "We  have  heard  him  preach  repeatedly,  but 
he  would  not  do  with  us  at  all."  "  Why  so ?  "  "  Oh, 
he  preaches  damnation  and  frightens  every  body. 
This  is  not  the  time  of  day  for  that  sort  of  thing. 
He  would  never  do,  sir."  At  this  point  the  evan- 
gelist brought  down  his  fist  upon  the  table  with  a 
tremendous  blow,  and  as  if  addressing  the  absent 
preacher,  exclaimed  with  his  loudest  voice,  "Bravo! 

M ,  bravo !  my  old  friend.     Thank  God,  you  are 

still  alive,  and  faithfully  warning  sinners  of  their 
danger."  Matheson's  visitor  was  astounded,  and 
remembering  he  had  an  engagement  at  that  mo- 
ment, took  up  his  hat  and  bade  the  evangelist  good 
morning.  In  this  way  he  stood  by  his  friends,  and 
this  too  he  did  at  all  hazards,  as  the  following  in- 
stance will  show.  A  minister  preaching  in  a  mar- 
ket being  assailed  by  a  man  under  the  influence  of 
drink,  Mr.  Matheson  interposed,  and  drawing  him- 
self up  to  his  full  height  said,  "If  you  strike  this 
man  of  God  it  must  be  through  my  body."  At 
the  sight  of  so  formidable  a  barrier,  the  drunkard 
quailed  and  slunk  away. 

In  the  course  of  his  itineracy  he  once  found 
himself  in  a  strange,  out  of  the  way  region  with 
out  a  friend,  without  lodging,  and  without  means. 
It  was  drawing  towards  night,  and  he  knew  not 
where  to  go.  Seeing  a  boy  crossing  a  field,  he 
called  to  him,  and  said,  "Are  there  any  godly  peo- 
ple here  about?"  "Na,  na,"  replied  the  lad,  "there 
is  nae  sic  fouk  in  this  pairish."     "Are  there  any 


The  Greatest  Hypocrite.  301 

believers?"  asked  the  evangelist.  "Bleevers!"  ex- 
claimed the  boy;  "I  never  heerd  o'  sic  things." 
"Any  religions  people,  then?"  "I  dinna  ken  ony 
o'  that  kind ;  I  doot  they  dinna  come  this  road  at 
a'."  "Well,  then,"  said  the  missionary,  making  a 
last  attempt,  "are  there  any  who  keep  family  wor- 
ship?" "Family  worship,"  replied  the  lad,  with  a 
bcAvildered  look;  "fat's  that?"  The  boy,  having 
taken  his  last  stare  at  the  curions  stranger,  was 
abont  to  go.  Matheson  was  at  his  wits'  end,  when  a 
happy  thought  struck  him.  "  Stop ! "  he  cried ;  "  are 
there  any  hypocrites  hereabout?"  "Ou,  aye,"  re- 
plied the  youth,  brightening  into  intelligence;  "the 

fouk  say  that 's  Avife  is  the  greatest  hypocrite 

in  a' the  pairish."  "Where  is  her  house?"  "Yon- 
ner  by,"  said  the  lad,  pointing  to  a  house  about  a 
mile  distant.  Having  rcAvarded  his  guide  with  a 
penny,  the  last  he  had,  he  made  his  way  to  the 
dAvelling  of  "  the  greatest  h;y^30crite  in  the  parish," 
and  knocked  at  the  door  as  the  shades  of  the  night 
were  falling.  The  door  was  opened  by  a  tidy,  cheer- 
ful, middle-aged  matron,  to  whom  the  stranger  thus 
addressed  himself;  "Will  you  receive  a  prophet  in 
the  name  of  a  prophet,  and  you'll  not  lose  your  re- 
ward?" She  smiled,  and  bade  him  welcome.  The 
hospitalities  of  that  Christian  home  were  heaped 
upon  him,  and  he  spent  a  delightful  evening  in  fel- 
lowship. In  this  way  a  lasting  friendship  began, 
and,  what  was  better,  a  door  of  usefulness  was 
opened  to  him. 


302  Striking  Rebukes. 

Talking  one  day  to  liis  fellow-passengers  in  a  rail- 
way train  about  the  concerns  of  the  soul,  he  was 
called  a  hypocrite.  On  this  he  took  five  shillings 
from  his  purse,  and  said  to  his  assailant  in  the  hear- 
ing of  all  tlie  rest,  "I'll  give  you  this  if  you  wdll 
tell  me  what  a  hypocrite  is."  The  man  was  silent. 
"You  don't  know,"  continued  the  evangelist;  "but 
I  will  tell  you.  A  hypocrite  is  one  whose  deeds 
are  not  consistent  with  his  words  and  professions. 
Now  I  will  give  you  ten  shillings  if  you  will  point 
out  wherein  my  actions  are  inconsistent  with  my 
profession."  There  was  no  reply,  and  Matheson 
proceeded  to  improve  the  advantage  thus  gained 
by  making  solemn  and  pungent  remarks  with  man- 
ifest impression  on  all  present. 

His  practical  good  sense  and  ready  wit  were  al- 
ways at  hand  to  help  him.  Some  were  objecting  to 
receiving  money  for  religious  purposes  from  uncon- 
verted persons  and  people  of  the  world.  "  I  have  no 
objections  whatever,"  was  his  reply.  ^^ God's  people 
spoiled  the  Egyptians^ 

Sometimes  his  rebukes  were  very  striking.  To  a 
lady,  whose  life  was  not  in  keeping  with  her  light 
and  privileges,  he  one  day  said,  "  It  has  cost  you, 
madam,  more  trouble  to  get  thus  far  on  the  Avay 
to  hell  than  it  has  cost  many  to  get  to  heaven." 
Startled,  she  exclaimed,  "Explain yourself"  "Con- 
sider," he  replied,  "how  many  barriers  you  have 
crossed;  a  mother's  prayers,  a  father's  godly  life, 
the  remonstrances  of  conscience,  heart-piercing  ad- 


spiritual  Conversation.  303 

dresses  and  faithful  warnings ;  and  above  them  all, 
and  in  them  all,  the  loving  arms  of  the  Saviour. 
These  have  stood  between  you  and  hell,  but  you 
have  overleaped  every  barrier ;  you  have  thrust  the 
outstretched  hand  of  mercy  aside,  that  you  might 
pursue  the  way  to  death.  Tell  me,  are  you  now  at 
ease?"  The  lady  burst  into  tears,  and  requested 
him  to  pray. 

"  How  is  it,"  said  another  lady  jestingly,  "  that 
you  godly  folks  have  more  trials  than  other  people  ?  " 
"Madam,"  he  replied,  "the  godly  have  all  ilieir  hdl 
upon  the  earth,  just  as  you  have  all  your  heaven 
here ;  but  when  the  redeemed  are  entering  on  their 
eternal  happiness,  you  will  be  beginning  your  ever- 
lasting misery." 

"How  can  you  bear  up  amidst  so  many  trials? " 
it  was  asked  of  him.  "  I  will  answer  that  question," 
said  he,  "in  the  language  of  an  author  I  was  reading 
the  other  day.  'A  child  of  God  may  be  tossed  by 
reason  of  corruption  and  temptation  on  a  troubled 
sea ;  but  that  ship  shall  never  be  wrecked,  whereof 
Christ  is  the  Pilot,  the  Scriptures  the  compass,  the 
promises  the  tacklings,  hope  the  anchor,  faith  the 
cable,  the  Holy  Ghost  the  winds,  and  holy  affections 
the  sails.'  No  fear  of  our  bearing  up  and  getting 
through ! " 

He  constantly  endeavored  to  give  the  conversa- 
tion everywhere  a  spiritual  turn ;  and  this  he  could 
do  in  an  easy  and  natural  way.  A  Christian  lady 
having  got  a  sewing  machine,  he  said,  "  Now  I  hope 


304  Revival -mad. 

that,  as  the  Lord  gives  you  strength,  you  will  use  it 
in  sending  missionaries  to  the  heathen,  or  in  help- 
ing the  Lord's  work  in  some  way."  Calling  when 
very  weary  at  a  certain  house,  the  hospitable  mis- 
tress prepared  for  him  a  cup  of  tea,  with  which 
he  was  a  good  deal  refreshed.  "When  I  get  home 
above,"  he  said,  "I  will  tell  Him,  'I  was  an  hun- 
gered, and  ye  fed  me.'" 

On  visiting  friends  who  had  removed  to  a  larger 
house,  he  said,  "Ay,  you  have  got  a  big  house,  but 
I  have  a  mansion  up  yonder."  One  asked  him  if 
he  had  ever  been  wounded  while  at  the  Crimea. 
"No,"  he  said;  "but  many  a  time  by  the  enemy  of 
souls."  On  hearing  of  a  family  who  were  interested 
in  the  Lord's  work,  and  counted  by  the  world  revi- 
val-mad, he  said,  "  Oh,  tell  them  from  me  to  bite 
every  body  they  meet."     Just  as  he  was  parting 

with  certain  friends  at  A ,  the  clock  struck  the 

midnight  hour,  on  which  he  said  with  great  solem- 
nity and  power,  "  The  mountains  shall  depart,  and 
the  hills  be  removed;  but  my  kindness  shall  not 
depart  from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my 
peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath  mercy 
on  thee."  As  they  were  about  to  leave  the  house  of 
a  Christian  family  where  they  had  been  hospitably 
entertained,  his  companion  made  some  allusion  to 
the  reward  promised  those  who  gave  a  disciple  a 
cup  of  cold  water  in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  on 
which  he  said  in  the  hearing  of  all,  "Oh,  they  have 
the  best  bargain!"     On  a  similar  occasion,  as  he 


Living  Above  Self.  305 

and  his  two  companions  were  going  away,  he  said, 
"You  may  not  be  aware  who  your  guests  are:  you 
have  been  entertaining  tliree,  Mngsy 

One  day  as  he  sat  in  a  railway  train  he  sang  a 
hymn,  on  which  a  fellow-traveller  said  to  him,  "You 
seem  a  happy  man."  "Yes,"  he  repHed,  "I  cannot 
be  but  happy ;  I  am  safe  for  time,  and  safe  for  eter- 
nity." This  led  to  fm^ther  conversation,  with  which 
the  gentleman  was  so  much  pleased  that  he  invited 

Mr.  Matheson  to  K ,  where  he  resided,  to  preach 

the  Gospel  there.  His  happiness  was  a  powerful  and 
effective  sermon.  By  word,  by  look,  and  by  deed,  he 
was  constantly  testifying  to  the  goodness  of  his  God. 
"The  Lord  has  been  very,  very  kind  to  me,"  was  his 
frequent  saying,  and  his  cheerfulness  was  often  more 
powerful  to  win  than  words  of  persuasive  eloquence. 
But  he  did  not  overlook  the  other  aspect  of  the  Chri^ 
tian's  hfe.  "How  hard  it  is  to  live  for  eternity^''  he 
would  say.  "  Living  above  self  and  for  God,"  he 
added,  "is  real  living  for  eternity." 

It  was  the  custom  of  our  evangelist  to  hold  a  meet- 
ing for  prayer  either  at  noon  or  in  the  evening.  This 
was  preparatory  to  the  evangelistic  service  which  he 
invariably  conducted  at  the  close  of  the  day.  Here 
he  refreshed  his  own  spirit  and  renewed  his  strength : 
here  too  the  Christians  were  provoked  to  love  and 
good  works.  An  open-air  service  frequently  pre- 
ceded the  meeting  within  doors.  The  singing  and 
praying,  the  loud  voice  and  bold  manner  of  the  lay- 
preacher,  arrested  the  attention  of  the  passer-by,  and 
20 


306  TJie  Tide   Turned. 

many  who  liad  never  darkened  a  church  door  w€Te 
thus  induced  to  enter  the  place  of  meeting.  Scenes 
of  violence  were  not  mfrequent  on  the  street,  and 
the  preacher  received  many  a  blow.  At  Forfar  the 
roughs  began  one  night  to  throw  stones  at  the 
evangelist  and  his  friends.  "The  devil  is  got  weak 
now,"  said  Matheson,  "when  he's  throwin'  gravel." 
Turning  to  his  companions,  he  said,  "Cheer  on!  the 
enemy  is  at  his  worst,  and  Christ  will  soon  triumph." 
So  it  was.  The  tide  turned ;  and  a  remarkable  work 
of  grace  followed. 

"You  need  not  go  there,"  said  one  who  deemed 
preaching  Christ  on  the  occasion  of  "an  execution" 
of  no  use;  "the  devil  has  such  power  there."  "The 
more  need,  then,"  was  his  reply,  "for  his  being  put 
down."  "We  won't  protect  you,"  said  the  police  at 
a  race-course.  "A  higher  arm  than  yours  will  pro- 
tect me,"  was  his  brave  but  meek  reply.  After  a 
fierce  assault  made  upon  him,  a  Christian  began  to 
express  sympathy  with  him;  but  he  said,  "Oh,  what 
about  iliat?     They  crucified  Him''' 

His  meetings  within  doors  were  conducted  in  the 
usual  way.  His  addresses  were  characterized  by 
great  fulness  and  variety.  He  could  speak  to  the 
edifying  of  saints.  With  jubilant  tones  and  a  cheery 
pilgrim-like  air  he  often  preached  from  the  text,  "  We 
are  journeying  unto  the  place  of  which  the  Lord  said, 
I  will  give  it  you :  come  thou  with  us,  and  we  will 
do  thee  good ;  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  con- 
cerning Israel "  (Num.  x.  29).     With  swelling  emo- 


Happy  at  all  Times.  307 

tions,  and  in  sentences  full  of  the  music  of  his  own 
joy,  he  loved  to  describe  the  happiness  of  that  people 
whose  God  is  the  Lord.  "Yes,"  he  was  wont  to  say, 
"they  are  happy  when  they  look  hack  and  remember 
the  time  when  Jesus  met  and  drew  them  to  Himself 
in  wondrous  love.  Happy  when  they  look  forward 
and  see  the  pillar-cloud  guiding  them  by  a  right  way. 
Happy  wheA  they  look  doivn  and  reflect  that  they 
might  have  been  weeping  and  wailing  in  the  outer 
darkness  instead  of  singing,  '  He  took  me  from  a  fear- 
ful pit,  and  from  the  miry  clay.'  And  happy  when 
they  look  up  and  think  of  the  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory  that  awaits  them.  Happy,  indeed, 
is  that  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord." 

But  his  speech  was  mainly  directed  to  men  in  their 
sins.  Some  as  they  advance  in  their  ministry  preach 
less  to  sinners  and  mor-e  to  saints.  The  reverse  was 
true  of  him.  "They  say  Duncan  Matheson  is  nae 
growin' ;  he  is  aye  preachin'  death  and  judgment," 
were  his  own  words;  "but,"  he  added  in  self-defence, 
"these  are  arrows  I  have  often  shot,  and  I  have  found 
them  effectual;  why  change  them?  "  "The  children 
of  God,"  said  he  quaintly,  "will  waggle  through  ae 
w^ay  or  anither ;  but  sinners  are  in  danger  every  mo- 
ment, and  so  I  keep  at  them."  "  Lord,  stamp  eternity 
upon  my  eyeballs,"  was  his  frequent  prayer.  As  the 
light  of  eternity  was  ever  growing  more  clear  and 
piercing  in  his  soul,  his  heart  bled  with  an  increas- 
ing compassion  for  the  perishing.  He  was  careful 
in  discriminating  between  the  saved  and  the  lost, 


308  The  Knock  at  the  Door. 

between  saint  and  sinner.  He  would  no  more  have 
assumed  that  all  his  hearers  were  true  Christians 
than  that  all  the  pebbles  on  the  sea-shore  are  dia- 
monds, or  all  the  birds  in  the  hedgerows  night- 
ingales. 

The  almost-saved  had  their  sad  history  and  too 
probable  end  set  forth  in  the  description  of  a  noble 
ship  crossing  the  wide  ocean,  surviving  many  a 
storm,  and  then  becoming  a  complete  and  hopeless 
wreck  at  the  harbor  mouth.  "  Near  the  kingdom," 
he  used  to  say,  "  is  not  in  it.  You  may  perish  with 
your  hand  on  the  latch  of  heaven's  gate." 

To  the  careless,  he  often  said,  "  There  is  a  ques- 
tion which  none  in  heaven  can  answer,  and  none  in 
hell:  can  you?  It  is,  'How  shall  we  escape,  if  we 
neglect  so  great  salvation  V ' " 

Many  a  time  did  the  formalist  and  hollow  pro- 
fessor quake  as  he  heard  himself  described  in  a  dis- 
course from  the  text,  "  I  saw  the  wicked  buried, 
who  had  come  and  gone  from  the  place  of  the  holy ; 
and  they  were  forgotten  in  the  city  where  they  had 
so  done  "  (Eccl.  ix.  10). 

Powerfully  and  affectionately  did  he  plead  with 
men  on  Christ's  behalf  as  he  spake  from  the  touch- 
ing words,  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock," 
using  homely  illustrations  of  the  truth.  "  A  little 
boy,  hearing  his  father  read  that  passage  aloud,"  he 
was  wont  to  tell,  "  rushed  away  from  the  window 
where  he  was  playing,  and  looking  with  wondering 
and  eager  eyes  into  his  parent's  face,  said  feelingly. 


The  Child's  Question.  309 

'But,  father,  did  they  let  Him  in?'  Friends,  you 
have  heard  the  knock  in  some  powerful  sermon, 
some  faithful  warning,  or  when  your  cheeks  ran 
down  with  tears  and  your  very  heart-strings  were 
breaking  as  they  lowered  the  little  coffin  with  your 
dear  babe  into  that  cold  grave.  But  did  you  let 
Him  in?  Perhaps  you  say,  'I  fain  would,  but  can- 
not' A  minister  once  knocked  at  the  door  of  a  poor, 
aged,  and  lone  woman ;  but  he  received  no  answer. 
Louder,  and  louder  still,  he  knocked.  At  length,  as 
he  kept  his  ear  close  to  the  door,  he  heard  a  feeble 
voice,  saying,  '  Who  is  there  ? '  '  It  is  I,  the  minis- 
ter,' was  the  reply.  'Ah,  sir,'  said  the  woman,  'I 
am  lying  very  ill,  and  cannot  rise  to  let  you  in ;  but 
if  you  would  come  in,  just  lift  the  latch  and  open  the 
door  for  yourself  The  good  man  cheerfully  com- 
plied, and  went  in  to  comfort  the  dying  suiferer 
with  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel.  Now,  my  hear- 
ers, you  say  you  cannot  open  the  door  yourselves. 
I  well  believe  you.  But  there  is  a  remedy  for  your 
helplessness ;  ask  the  Lord  Jesus  to  open  the  door 
for  Himself  and  come  in.  And  He  will  come  in. 
Believest  thou  this?  Some  of  you  who  once  heard 
the  knock  of  Christ,  hear  it  not  now.  Well  do  I 
remember  being  startled  and  kept  awake  by  the 
boom  of  the  cannon  when  I  went  to  the  Crimea. 
After  a  time,  however,  I  grew  accustomed  to  it,  and 
could  sleep  amidst  the  roar  of  the  artillery.  So  it  is 
with  many.  Jesus  knocks  at  your  door  in  vain. 
His  knocking  does  not  trouble  you  now  as  once  it 


310  The  Second  Birth. 

did.  In  vain  He  pleads  with  yon,  telling  yon  that 
His  locks  are  wet  with  the  dews  of  night.  He  is 
ont  in  the  cold,  dark,  wet  night ;  bnt  yon  care  not. 
He  is  threatening  to  depart  and  leave  you  to  perish ; 
bnt  you  are  too  drowsy  to  listen  or  to  care.  To- 
night He  may  go  away  forever.  The  last  knock 
will  be  given.  This  may  be  the  last  one.  What 
then?  oh!  what  then?" 

Eegeneration  by  the  Holy  Ghost  formed  a  large 
and  prominent  part  of  his  teaching.  He  had  dwelt 
long  beneath  the  awful  shadow  of  this  great  mys- 
tery of  grace,  and  he  often  said,  "  I  have  always 
been  afraid  to  preach  on  that  text,  '  Except  a  man 
be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God.'" 
Yet  he  continually  and  most  emphatically  announced 
the  necessity  and  explained  the  nature  of  the  second 
birth.  "Who  made  you  a  Christian?"  he  would 
ask.  "  Some  are  made  Christians  by  their  parents, 
some  by  their  Sabbath-school  teachers,  others  by 
their  ministers  and  pastors,  and  many  are  made 
Christians  by  themselves.  But  man-made  Chris- 
tians cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  Friend, 
were  you  made  a  Christian  by  the  Holy  Ghost? 
They  get  their  salvation  from  man,  not  from  God. 
The  sons  of  God  are  born  '  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the 
will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.' 
'  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh ;  and  that 
which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel  not 
that  I  said  unto  thee,  Ye  must  be  born  again.'" 
This  great  truth  of  the  Gospel  he  proclaimed  with 


The   Twofold  Remedy.  311 

no  less  skill  than  power,  on  the  one  hand  avoiding 
the  danger  of  making  it  a  stnmbling-block  to  the 
sincere  inquirer,  and  on  the  other  hand  taking  care 
that  it  should  not  jostle  responsibility  out  of  the 
field,  and  set  men  asleep  on  the  damning  excuse,  "  I 
cannot  make  myself  a  new  creature ;  I  must  wait, 
and  do  nothing,  till  the  Spirit  comes." 

The  sovereignty  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  man, 
the  sinner's  need  of  the  Spirit's  grace,  the  helpless- 
ness, folly,  and  infatuated  wickedness  of  the  human 
heart,  were  truths  written  as  by  a  pen  of  iron  and 
the  point  of  a  diamond  upon  his  innermost  heart ; 
and  he  always  spoke  as  he  believed.  One  day  a 
friend  referred  in  conversation  to  the  errors  of  a 
low  Arminianism  that  leaves  no  room  and  no  need 
for  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  or  the  election  of 
grace.     Suddenly  stopping,  he  said,  "  It  won't  do, 

J ;  the  truth  is,  you  and  I  would  be  damned,  if 

it  were  not  for  election.  But  that  grips,"  he  added 
in  a  decided  tone,  at  the  same  time  clenching  his 
fist.  "Yes,"  he  continued,  "that  is  true,"  and  suit- 
ing the  action  to  the  word,  he  added,  "I  know  that 
if  I  had  one  foot  in  heaven,  and  Christ  were  saying 
to  me,  '  Put  in  the  other,'  I  would  not  do  it." 

Stating  clearly  the  sinner's  guilt  and  wickedness, 
the  evil  conscience  and  the  depraved  heart,  with 
equal  clearness  and  force  he  proclaimed  the  twofold 
remedy — the  blood  of  Christ  and  the  all-powerful 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  After  setting  forth  the 
utter  ruin  of  man,  it  was  his  manner  to  say,  "Here 


312        A  Full  Christ  for  Empty  Sinners. 

is  the  sinner,  and  there  is  'the  blood:'  the  great 
question  is,  'How  may  these  two  be  brought  to- 
gether?' The  answer  is,  'The  Holy  Ghost:  He 
only  can  do  it.' " 

The  Alpha  and  Omega  of  all  his  addresses, 
whether  to  saints  or  sinners,  was  Jesus  Christ. 
"A  full  Christ  for  empty  sinners"  was  ever  his 
cry.  "This  man  receiveth  sinners"  was  a  favor- 
ite text,  from  which  he  feelingly  discoursed  of  the 
love,  pity,  and  tenderness  of  the  Lord  Jesus  in  deal- 
ing with  sinners.  The  Saviour  whom  he  loved  to 
preach  was  He  whose  great  heart  gave  way,  like  the 
heart  of  a  little  child,  when  on  the  mount  of  Olives 
He  burst  into  tears  at  the  sight  of  the  doomed  city. 
The  Redeemer  whom  he  proclaimed  was  that  Holy 
One  who  bore  so  rare  a  friendship  for  publicans  and 
sinners.  The  Christ  whom  he  held  up  to  admiration 
was  the  same  who  took  little  babes  in  his  arms  to 
bless  them,  and  received  old  sinners,  like  Zaccheus, 
into  the  same  bosom,  and  saved  them.  He  preached 
Jesus  as  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost ;  whose  arm  of 
grace  reacheth  to  the  lowest  depth  of  man's  misery 
and  the  farthest  bound  of  man's  wickedness.  It  was 
Christ  always ;  Christ  more  and  more  to  the  last ;  it 
was  "Jesus  only."  His  preaching  was  but  an  echo 
of  the  announcement  made  by  the  heavenly  host 
on  that  memorable  night  when  the  plains  of  Beth- 
lehem were  aglow  with  a  softer,  sweeter  light  than 
the  light  of  moon  or  stars,  and  all  the  woodland 
rang  with  a  music  that  ravished  the  shepherds' 


Meetings  with  Inquirers.  313 

hearts,  and  woke  the  sheep  from  their  gentle  slum- 
bers, as  those  nightingales  of  another  world — the 
angels — sang,  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  on 
earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men." 

In  short,  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  Jesus  risen 
and  exalted  to  be  a  Prince,  a  Saviour,  the  Lamb  of 
God,  Substitute,  Surety,  Eedeemer,  the  power  of  God 
and  the  wisdom  of  God  to  every  one  that  believeth 
— ^this  was  all  his  theme.  And  there  are  tens  of 
thousands  who  will  recall  the  image  of  the  brave, 
outspoken,  and  genial  preacher,  asking  with  equal 
point  and  feeling  the  question  he  never  wearied  ask- 
ing, "  What  think  ye  of  Christ?  " 

"How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds 
In  a  believer's  ear  ! 
It  soothes  his  sorrows,  heals  his  wounds, 
And  drives  away  his  fear. 

"It  makes  the  wounded  spirit  whole, 
And  calms  the  troubled  breast; 
'Tis  manna  to  the  hungry  soul. 
And  to  the  weary  rest. 

"Jesus  !  my  Shepherd,  Guardian,  Friend, 
My  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King, 
My  Lord,  my  Life,  my  Way,  my  End, 
Accept  the  praise  I  bring." 

At  an  early  period  of  his  course  as  an  evange- 
list, Mr.  Matheson  was  led  to  follow  the  practice 
of  meeting  with  inquirers  at  the  close  of  every  ser- 
vice.    "  He  came  to  preach  at  Stirling  in  1858," 


314  Drawing  in  the  Net. 

writes  the  Eev.  W.  Eeid,  editor  of  the  British  Her- 
ald^ "  when  two  meetings  were  got  up  for  him,  and 
at  the  close  those  who  were  anxious  were  requested 
to  remain  to  be  spoken  to  personally  in  the  pews — a 
thing  unknown  before  in  Scotland.  We  remember 
how  shy  our  dear  departed  friend  looked  when  one 
said  to  him,  '  Will  you  speak  to  those  in  that  pew  ?  ' 
He  did  so  with  some  hesitation;  he  said  nothing 
about  it  at  the  time,  but  years  afterwards  he  re- 
ferred to  it,  and  said  it  was  the  first  time  he  had 
seen  or  done  such  a  thing,  '  and  I  thank  God  that  it 
was  forced  upon  me,  and  the  neck  of  the  thing  was 
broken,  and  that  I  was  no  longer  content  to  fire  at 
long  range,  but  to  come  face  to  face  with  souls.' 
He  found  it,  he  said,  one  of  the  steps  by  which  the 
Lord  prepared  him  and  led  him  on  in  his  work,  and 
it  was  no  strange  thing  for  him  ever  afterwards,  as 
long  as  he  lived,  to  come  into  personal  contact  with 
awakened  souls." 

Being  a  true  fisher  of  men,  he  not  only  let  down 
the  net  for  a  draught,  but  drew  it  up  again  to  see  if 
any  were  caught.  Some  may  be  too  hasty  in  search- 
ing for  results ;  but  even  a  little  impatience  of  zeal  is 
better  than  the  dozing  indolence  of  those  who,  under 
pretence  of  honoring  divine  sovereignty,  make  no 
inquiry,  and  cannot  so  much  as  tell  whether  their 
net  has  enclosed  minnows  or  monsters.  The  meet- 
ing for  directing  inquirers  was  a  necessity  of  the 
sudden  and  widespread  awakening;  and,  notwith- 
standing its  occasional  abuse  or  mismanagement, 


The  Crisis.  315 

has  served  important  ends  in  the  work  of  God  and 
the  salvation  of  souls. 

Many  Christians  will  remember  with  gratitude 
and  joy  the  first  time  they  were  brought  face  to  face 
with  a  soul  grappling  with  the  tremendous  realities, 
sin^  eternity^  and  God.  Tt  forms  an  epoch  in  the  life 
of  a  pastor,  or  of  any  Christian.  You  feel  you  are 
in  the  presence  of  an  immortal  spirit  in  the  very 
crisis  of  its  being.  You  see  the  battle,  the  agony, 
the  portentous  despair  of  a  soul  wrestling  with  in- 
visible powers  of  overwhelming  might;  and  you 
tremble  as  you  behold  the  fainting  spirit  toiling  be- 
twixt wisdom  and  madness  to  roll  back  the  rising 
billows  of  infinite  sorrow  and  ill.  You  know  you 
are  in  the  presence  of  the  Divine  Worker,  and  you 
seem  to  feel  upon  your  own  spirit  the  very  breath 
of  the  Life-giver  as  He  breathes  on  the  dry  bones, 
and  evokes  a  fairer  form  than  Adam's  from  poorer, 
sadder  dust  than  the  freshly  bedewed  soil  of  Para- 
dise. Wise  and  patient  dealing  with  inquirers  is 
to  a  well-instructed  believer  one  of  the  choicest 
means  of  grace. 

Not  many  Christians,  however,  are  qualified  for 
this  difficult  work.  During  the  period  of  religious 
awakening  there  was  more  or  less  patching  of  old 
garments  and  filling  old  bottles  with  new  wine. 
The  wound  was  sometimes  too  slightly  healed,  and 
comfort  was  given  where  blows  were  needed.  If 
that  old  piece  of  legalism  was  abandoned,  "  Go  home 
and  read  your  Bible,  and  use  the  means  of  grace," 


3i6  His   Wisdom  and  Skill 

which,  in  effect  is  to  say,  "  Go  and  work  yonrself 
into  a  state  of  grace,"  there  was  a  rush  to  the  oppo- 
site extreme  in  a  species  of  bribing  simpler  ones  into 
saying  they  beheved,  the  great  question  being  not 
answered,  but  hushed  up.  "  Only  just  believe ;  just 
believe."  Very  good;  but  what  am  I  to  believe? 
What  is  it  to  believe  ?  How  am  I  to  believe  ?  There 
is  often  an  anchor  in  the  deep  that  binds  the  strug- 
gling soul  to  the  shores  of  sin  and  death.  Not  every 
Christian  can  grapple  in  the  depths  for  the  myste- 
rious hinderance  that  binds  the  awakening  spirit  in 
unbelief  Some  are  gifted  by  the  Holy  Ghost  for 
this  part  of  the  work. 

In  dealing  with  inquirers  Mr.  Matheson  always 
took  care  to  discriminate  between  those  who,  as  he 
was  wont  to  say,  "had  only  a  scratch"  and  those 
who  were  deeply  wounded.  To  the  former  he  would 
speak  a  word  fitted  to  deepen  conviction  and  pass 
on ;  to  the  latter  he  never  failed  to  preach  Christ. 
He  also  found  two  very  different  classes  who  spoke 
the  same  language,  both  declaring  they  had  no  con- 
viction. One  of  those  classes  had  indeed  little  or  no 
conviction  of  sin,  and  he  dealt  with  them  accord- 
ingly. The  other  class  were  penetrated  with  a  sense 
of  sin,  but  could  see  nothing  in  themselves  but  utter 
hardness  of  heart.  These  often  prove  to  be  the  best 
cases.  He  never  failed  to  bring  inquirers  to  the 
Word  of  God  and  the  cross  of  Christ.  His  own  ex- 
perience was  ever  of  great  use  in  giving  direction 
and  encouragement.    A  full,  free,  and  present  salva- 


in  Dealing  with  Inquirers.  317 

tion  in  the  Lord  Jesus  was  held  out  to  every  soul. 
If  they  were  sinking  in  deep  waters,  Jesus  was  at 
hand  to  help  them.  If  they  had  no  right  conviction 
of  sin,  as  they  said,  they  had  the  greater  need  to 
come  at  once  to  Christ  to  receive  conviction,  pardon, 
holiness,  and  every  blessing  freely  from  Him.  Christ 
is  the  good  Physician,  and  can  deal  effectually  with 
broken  hearts  and  unbroken  hearts,  hard  hearts, 
proud  hearts,  fickle  hearts,  and  all  kinds  of  wicked 
hearts.  "  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of 
your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh," 
is  the  gracious  and  true  word  of  Him  who  came  to 
call  not  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance. 
"There  was  once,"  said  our  evangelist,  "a  little  bird 
chased  by  a  hawk,  and  in  its  extremity  it  took  ref- 
uge in  the  bosom  of  a  tender-hearted  man.  There 
it  lay,  its  wings  and  feathers  quivering  with  fear, 
and  its  little  heart  throbbing  against  the  bosom  of 
the  good  man,  whilst  the  hawk  kept  hovering  over 
head,  as  if  saying,  'Deliver  up  that  bird,  that  I  may 
devour  it'  Now,  will  that  gentle,  kind-hearted  man 
take  the  poor  little  creature  that  puts  its  trust  in 
him  out  of  his  bosom,  and  deliver  it  up  to  the  hawk  ? 
What  think  ye?  Would  you  do  it?  No;  never. 
Well,  then,  if  you  flee  for  refuge  into  the  bosom  of 
Jesus,  who  came  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost,  do 
you  think  He  will  deliver  you  up  to  your  deadly 
foe?     Never!  never!  never!" 

In  dealing  with  inquirers,  his  power  lay  not  so 
much  in  the  clear,  terse  way  in  which  he  stated  the 


3i8  The  Good  Physician. 

plan  of  salvation,  as  in  his  homely,  genial  manner  of 
applying,  like  a  kind  and  skilful  physician,  the 
balm  to  the  wound.  Not  seldom,  when  others  rea- 
soning out  of  the  Scriptures  failed,  he  would  come 
and  try  his  easy,  off-hand  method,  in  which  there 
was  profound  knowledge  of  human  nature  and  true 
Christian  wisdom,  without  any  show  of  either.  A 
young  man  of  talent,  now  a  devoted  follower  of 
Jesus,  found  himself  at  the  close  of  a  meeting  in 
deep  distress.  "  Downcast  and  sad,"  he  says,  " I  was 
stealing  away  from  Mr.  Matheson,  whom  I  did  not 
wish  to  meet.  Wonderful  love  of  Jesus!  who  marks 
our  wayward  steps,  and  still  in  tenderness  and  love 
calls  after  us,  'Come  unto  Me,'  I  was  unexpectedly 
confronted  by  Mr.  M.,  who  introduced  me  to  a  min- 
ister. Hesitatingly  I  began,  in  answer  to  kind  in- 
quiries, to  state  my  case,  when  Mr.  M.  laying  his 
hand  on  my  shoulder,  said,  'Oh,  I  know  what's 
wrong  wi'  James.  I  know  what  James  is  wanting. 
It  was  a'  settled  eighteen  hundred  years  ago ;  but 
James  is  not  satisfied  with  that,  he  would  like  some- 
thing more.  Isn't  that  it  now  ?  But  that's  enough, 
man.  Let  that  suffice  for  you.'  In  this  way  he 
held  up  the  finished  work  of  Christ,  and  relief 
followed." 

Such  was  the  manner  of  his  life  and  work.  It 
was  a  life  full  of  toil,  weariness,  and  sorrow ;  it  was 
also  full  of  truth,  and  wisdom,  and  goodness.  It  was 
strangely  checkered.  One  day  we  find  him  associ- 
ated with  the  noblest  in  the  land,  who  do  him 


I 


Souls  and  Eternity.  319 

honor  as  a  man  of  original  character  and  apostolic 
virtue :  next  day  he  is  out  of  sight  in  some  obscure 
village,  where  he  is  despised  and  shunned  by  all 
save  a  faithful  few.  Now  he  stands  up  to  speak  by 
the  side  of  the  eloquent  Guthrie,  the  Moderator  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church,  who  is 
not  ashamed  to  acknowledge  the  evangelist  and  to 
share  in  his  work.  Many  days  have  not  elapsed 
when  he  is  rejected  by  a  little  town  for  whose  salva- 
tion he  had  labored  with  heroic  endurance :  for  his 
too  pointed  rebuke  of  sin  he  is  driven  forth  amidst  a 
tornado  of  odium  so  fierce,  that  not  one  of  his  Chris- 
tian friends  has  the  courage  to  stand  up  and  say, 
"God  bless  him!"  But  whether  honored  here  or 
dishonored  there,  feasted  one  day  or  starved  the 
next,  he  held  on  his  way  with  one  noble  end  in 
view — ^the  salvation  of  souls.  In  the  midst  of  the 
world,  with  its  huge,  overbearing  materialism,  its 
gorgeous  mammon-worship,  its  fascinating  sensu- 
ousness,  its  carnal  intoxications,  its  choice  delights 
of  godless  pleasure,  he  saw  nothing  but  souls^  and 
spoke  only  of  eternity.  Men  everywhere  mad  upon 
their  idols  he  confronted  in  the  name  of  the  invis- 
ible God.  To  the  intoxicated  worshippers  of  Time 
he  constantly  presented  the  dread  realities  of  eter- 
nity, demanding  of  them  the  sacrifice  of  a  delicious, 
heart-ravishing  present,  and  the  acceptance  of  Christ 
and  everlasting  life,  or  the  peril  of  hell's  pains  for  a 
refusal.  With  unconquerable  long-suffering  he  thus 
held  on  his  way  to  the  end. 


320  His  Spiritual  Children. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

SOME   SHEAVES   FROM   THE   HARVEST-FIELD. 

**As  streams  of  water  in  the  south, 
Our  bondage,  Lord,  recall : 
Who  sow  in  tears,  a  reaping-time 
Of  joy  enjoy  they  shall. 

"That  man  who,  bearing  precious  seed, 
In  going  forth  doth  mourn  ; 
He  doubtless,  bringing  back  his  sheaves, 
Rejoicing  shall  return." 

They  that  wisely  and  steadfastly  set  their  hearts 
on  winning  souls  are  usually  favored  with  abun- 
dant success.  They  delight  themselves  in  God,  and 
in  terms  of  the  promise  He  gives  them  the  desire 
of  their  hearts.  For  many  years  Duncan  Matheson 
prayed  for  a  wide-spread  revival  of  true  religion. 
The  great  awakening  at  length  took  place,  and  he 
was  honored  above  most  men  in  reaping  its  fruits. 
"Give  me  children,  else  I  die!"  was  the  spirit  of 
all  his  prayers;  and,  if  facts  be  of  any  value,  his 
prayers  were  abundantly  answered. 

Several  of  his  spiritual  children  are  already  able 
preachers  of  the  Gospel;  some  are  successful  mis- 
sionaries at  home;  and  some  have  gone  forth  to 
preach  among  the  heathen  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  A  considerable  number  are  useful  elders 
and  deacons;  others  are  earnest  Sabbath-school 
teachers  and  valiant  street-preachers ;  while  many 


Fruits  of  His  Labors.  321 

more  distribute  tracts,  visit  the  sick,  the  outcast, 
and  the  perishing.  Hundreds  are  quietly  doing 
that  noblest  and  most  difficult  kind  of  Christian 
work — training  up  their  children  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord.  A  multitude  live  to  preach  the  most  eloquent 
of  sermons — carrying  a  cross  for  Christ ;  and  sing  the 
grandest  psalm  sung  out  of  heaven — living  a  holy 
life.  With  well-authenticated  instances  of  conver- 
sion it  would  not  be  difficult  to  fill  a  volume.  Let 
us  take  a  few  from  amongst  many. 

"I  find  the  fruits  of  his  labors  in  the  various  dis- 
tricts which  I  visit,"  is  the  testimony  of  a  venerable 
servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  on  his  returning 
from  a  recent  evangelistic  tour.  "His  footprints 
will  long  remain  fresh  and  warm  all  over  the  North. 
I  spoke  to  an  interesting  young  sailor  in  a  railway 
carriage  some  time  ago.  He  was  an  Englishman 
and  a  warm-hearted  Christian.  He  told  me  that, 
years  ago,  when  his  ship  lay  in  the  harbor  of  Mac- 
duff, he  went '  to  hear  a  man  called  Duncan  Mathe- 
son  in  the  Free  Chm'ch  on  a  week  evening,  and  the 
Lord  apprehended  him.' " 

A  thoughtless  young  man  at  C went  one 

night  to  hear  him  preach,  and  came  aAvay  with  an 
arrow  in  his  conscience;  but  having  promised  to 
attend  a  ball,  he  went  to  the  gay  assembly  in  the 
hope  of  ridding  his  mind  of  anxious  thoughts  amidst 
the  music  and  the  dance.  Not  thus  was  his  wound 
to  be  healed.  In  the  midst  of  the  dance  the  thought 
of  eternity  seized  upon  him,  and  he  rushed  out  to 
21 


322  Interesting  Cases. 

seek  Christ  in  the  darkness  of  the  night.  He  did 
not  seek  in  vain.  The  Hght  of  the  glory  of  God  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  dawned  upon  his  soul.  He 
now  abandoned  the  gaieties  of  the  world,  and  after 
a  brief  career  of  faith  and  holiness  fell  asleep  in 
Jesus. 

Another  young  man,  a  mason  by  trade,  was 
awakened,  and  went  frequently  to  hear  Matheson. 
For  a  while  he  could  find  no  rest  to  his  soul.  The 
terrors  of  the  Lord  followed  him  to  his  work ;  and 
when  the  thought  of  judgment  to  come  arose  in  his 
mind,  he  would  begin  to  hammer  the  stones  with 
furious  energy.  His  fellow-workmen  were  aston- 
ished; and  when  they  asked  him  what  ailed  him, 
he  made  no  reply,  so  entirely  was  he  absorbed  in 
his  endeavors  to  stifle  conviction.  "The  more  I 
hammered,"  said  he,  "the  worse  I  grew."  Heav- 
ier and  still  heavier  fell  the  blows  of  the  Spirit's 
hammer,  till  at  length,  reduced  to  self-despair,  he 
dropped  into  the  arms  of  Jesus  and  found  rest. 

On  one  occasion  when  he  was  preaching  on  the 
links  at  Aberdeen,  "a  gay  and  godless  young  man," 
as  he  describes  himself,  was  passing  by.  An  arrow 
guided  by  the  Spirit  pierced  the  conscience  of  the 
youth.  He  was  converted  and  studied  for  the  min- 
istry. Last  year  he  was  ordained  as  a  missionary 
to  Madagascar.  As  the  evangelist  passed  away  to 
his  rest,  the  young  missionary  stood  up  amidst  the 
solemn  services  of  his  ordination  at  Aberdeen  to  tell 
the  audience  that  the  voice  of  Duncan  IMatheson 


Incident  at  Perth.  323 

had  been  the  trumpet  of  God  to  his  ear,  calHng  him 
into  the  fellowship  of  grace,  and  the  ministry  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  The  standard  had  just  di'opped  from 
the  hands  of  the  brave  standard-bearer  as  he  fell; 
but  bravely  was  it  caught  up  by  his  own  son  in  the 
faith  to  be  planted  on  the  high  places  of  the  field, 
where  even  now  scenes  of  surpassing  glory  are  wit- 
nessed in  the  triumphs  of  the  cross.  In  the  labors 
of  the  foreign  missionary  it  is  permitted  us  to  hope 
that  the  voice  of  the  home  evangelist  will  find  a 
powerful  echo  among  the  falling  idols  of  that  dis- 
tant island,  and  result  in  gathering  a  multitude  of 
the  heathen  to  Christ.  Thus  not  in  vain  did  he  sow 
beside  all  waters.  The  little  winged  seeds,  not  visi- 
ble to  every  eye,  dropping  from  the  branches  amidst 
the  blasts  of  northern  winter  are  being  wafted  on  the 
breeze  of  providential  circumstance  to  the  prepared 
soil  of  the  sunny  south.  "This  also  cometh  from  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  who  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  ex- 
cellent in  working." 

At  Perth,  when  special  services  were  in  progress. 
a  young  man  from  Glasgow  happened  to  call  at  the 
house  of  Mrs.  S.,  where  Mr.  Matheson  was  staying. 

AVhen  the  evangelist  was  informed  that  J\Ir.  

had  been  at  the  door,  he  said,  "  Perhaps  he  has  been 
brought  here  at  this  time  to  be  converted  and  saved. 
Let  us  pray  for  him."  Prayer  was  offered  as  follows 
(I  quote  this  from  the  journal  of  Mrs.  S.):  "0  God, 
if  Thou  hast  brought  him  to  this  house,  to  this  town, 
and  to  this  hall,  to  save  his  soul,  it  will  be  a  won- 


324  A   Word  in  Season. 

derfnl  thing.  Do  it,  Lord,  do  it."  The  young  man 
went  to  the  meeting  in  the  hall,  was  awakened  and 
converted.  His  own  testimony  is  this:  "I  was  a 
member  of  an  influential  Presbyterian  Church,  a 
Sabbath-school  teacher,  and  a  tract-distributor,  but 
up  to  that  night  I  was  a  dead  soul.  Then  I  was 
brought  to  see  I  was  dead ;  and  then  by  grace  I 
passed  from  death  unto  life  through  faith  in  Jesus." 

At  Kirriemuir  a  young  woman  newly  awakened 
was  urging  her  companion  to  remain  to  the  second 
meeting,  "  Never  mind,"  said  Mr.  IMatheson,  "  let 
her  go  her  own  way;  she  is  determined  to  perish." 
This  word,  accompanied  by  a  look  of  piercing  ten- 
derness, went  to  the  heart  of  the  thoughtless  girl. 
"Yes,  yes,"  she  said  to  herself,  "I  am  going  my 
own  way,  and  that  way  is  to  death."  The  arrow 
was  from  the  bow  of  the  unerring  marksman; 
and  the  same  invisible  hand  that  shot  it  drew  it 
out,  and  healed  the  wound  with  the  balm  of  his 
peace-speaking  blood.  After  two  years  of  a  holy 
life  that  young  believer  calmly  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 

At  Forfar,  as  Avas  his  wont  in  a  strange  place,  he 
made  the  children  his  friends,  and  sent  them  to  tell 
their  fathers  and  mothers  to  come  and  hear  a  stran- 
ger preaching.  "  Mither,"  said  a  little  boy,  "there's 
a  new  man  come  to  the  toon  to  preach;  gang  and 
hear  him."  Thinking  it  strange  to  be  asked  by  her 
boy,  she  resolved  tliough  Avith  some  reluctance  to 
go.  How  to  conceal  from  her  neighbors  her  going 
to  a  revival  meeting  Avas  her  difficulty.     Nicode- 


''  Yell  no  Need  the  BasketT  325 

mus  went  to  Jesus  under  cover  of  night :  this  wo- 
man took  her  market-basket  on  her  arm  as  if  she 
was  going  to  make  the  usual  daily  purchase,  and 
thus  screened  herself  from  the  observation  and  jeers 
of  her  neighbors.  Day  after  day  she  appeared  at 
the  meeting  with  the  basket.  At  length  she  was 
brought  to  the  Lord.  "Ye'U  no  need  the  basket 
any  more,"  said  the  evangelist  to  her  with  a  signifi- 
cant twinkle  of  his  eye.  The  basket  was  laid  aside : 
she  boldly  avowed  the  Saviour,  and  became  signally 
useful  in  bringing  others  of  the  same  class. 

A  woman  residing  in  the  country,  impelled  by 
curiosity,  went  to  Forfar  to  hear  the  lay-preacher. 
Deeply  impressed,  she  resolved  on  taking  the  fullest 
advantage  of  the  meetings,  and  took  lodgings  in 
the  town  with  the  view  of  attending  every  service. 
The  result  was  her  conversion.  She  went  home, 
walked  with  God,  testified  for  Christ,  and  after 
a  short  time  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  She  knew  the 
day  of  her  merciful  visitation.  Such  is  the  work 
of  grace. 

One  day  he  is  standing  at  a  street  corner  in  Perth, 
and  is  singing — 

"Nothing  either  great  or  small, 
Nothing,  sinner,  no: 
Jesus  did  it,  did  it  all, 
Long,  long  ago." 

A  young  man  passing  by  was  arrested  by  the 
words  of  the  hymn,  which  seemed  to  convey  a  new 
truth.     He  listened  a  moment.     A  light  he  had 


326  A  Station-master  s    Testimony. 

never  seen  before  dawned  upon  his  heart,  and  as 
he  stood  there  on  the  pavement  he  became  a  new 
creature  in  Christ  Jesus. 

"Never  shall  I  forget  the  first  time  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  Mr.  Matheson,"  writes  a  sta- 
tion master  on  a  northern  railway.  "I  was  then 
a  stranger  to  grace  and  to  God.  Much  against 
my  will  I  was  induced  to  listen  to  God's  message 
through  him,  and  for  the  first  time  in  all  my  life  I 
was  convinced  that  I  was  without  God,  and  with- 
out hope  in  the  world.  His  text,  'Escape  for  thy 
life,'  was  brought  home  to  my  heart  with  power 
and  demonstration  of  the  Spirit.  I  was  in  due  time, 
thank  God,  brought  out  of  darkness  into  His  mar- 
vellous light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God. 
Oh,  then,  extol  the  Lord  with  me,  and  let  us  exalt 
His  name  together." 

Take  another — a  young  man.  "  I  was  induced 
by  a  friend  to  go  to  W Free  Church  on  a  Sun- 
day afternoon.  The  preacher  was  Duncan  Mathe- 
son. His  text  was,  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock,"  etc.  The  word  came  with  power  to  my 
soul ;  so  much  so  that,  although  very  reluctant  to 
give  way,  I  could  not  refrain  from  shedding  tears. 
This  being  noticed  by  Mr.  M.  he  came  and  spoke, 
and  invited  me  to  the  vestry.  I  afterwards  went 
to  the  open-air  meeting,  where  my  convictions  were 
deepened.  For  six  weeks  I  continued  in  great  dis- 
tress; and  all  the  more  that  many  who  appeared 
not  so  anxious  as  I  was  were  obtaining  liberty  from 


Another  Testimony.  327 

their  burdens.  In  order  to  be  alone  I  went  in  tlie 
darkness  of  night  to  the  hill  and  knelt  to  pray,  but 
was  often  disturbed  by  the  sound  of  footsteps,  as  I 
fancied,  but  no  one  appeared.  At  this  time  I  was 
looking  for  a  mysterious  revelation  of  the  Lord  Je- 
sus, with  conscious  freedom  from  my  burden  and 
for  joy.  I  had  been  urged  to  receive  the  Lord  Jesus 
into  my  heart;  and  in  church  I  kept  calling  in- 
wardly faster  than  tongue  could  express  it,  '  Come 
in.  Lord  Jesus !  come  in !  come  in ! '  thinking  that 
if  I  continued  long  enough  the  Lord  would  come  in ; 
but  all  in  vain.  I  went  home  and  threw  myself  on 
my  knees  with  the  intention  of  praying  till  I  got 
the  blessing.  I  continued  with  strong  cries  and 
tears  until,  as  I  was  afterwards  told  by  the  rest  in 
the  house,  the  people  in  the  street  were  standing  to 
listen.  When  I  thought  I  was  about  to  obtain  de- 
liverance, it  was  suggested  to  my  mind  that  by 
earnest  prayer  I  could  get  it  any  time;  and,  stop- 
ping, the  Spirit  was  grieved  for  a  time.     I  felt  I  was 

relapsing,  and  went  again  to  hear  Mr.  M.  in  H 

Free  Church,  and  at  the  close  of  the  service  went 
with  other  inquirers  into  the  vestry.  Here  he  ad- 
dressed us  very  solemnly,  and  ended  by  asking  three 
times,  'Who  is  for  Christ?'  My  heart  responded, 
'Me,  me.'  The  moment  of  my  deliverance  was 
come,  and  the  third  time  the  question  was  put,  I 
sprang  to  my  feet,  and  exclaimed,  'I'm  for  Christ!' 
On  second  thoughts  I  was  afraid  I  had  committed 
a  great  sin ;  but  the  words,   '  Believe  on  the  Lord 


328  The  Strait  Gate. 

Jesus,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,'  were  open  and  ap- 
plied to  my  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost  as  they  had 
never  been ;  and  I  was  filled  with  peace.  I  ran  to 
my  office,  but  could  not  work,  and  went  on  praying 
and  singing  alternately.  I  felt  an  unspeakable  love 
to  my  employer,  and  thought  as  he  sat  beside  me  I 
could  do  any  thing  for  him."  Years  have  passed, 
and  this  young  man  has  gone  on  and  prospered, 
being  now  an  elder  in  a  Free  Church,  and  an  inde- 
fatigable worker  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord. 

"  I  had  convictions  and  the  strivings  of  the  Spir- 
it," writes  another  young  man,  "  from  my  very  in- 
fancy. Fears  of  perishing  often  possessed  my  little 
heart,  especially  at  night,  and  I  endeavored  to  ob- 
tain peace  by  repeating  my  prayers.  As  I  grew 
up,  I  became  reckless  and  even  profane.  Happen- 
ing to  be  from  home  on  a  visit  to  my  friends  at 

M ,  I  went  to  hear  Mr.  Matheson,  who  was  that 

night  in  the  village.  His  text  was,  '  Strive  to  en- 
ter in  at  the  strait  gate ;  for  many,  I  say  unto  you, 
will  seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be  able.'  Every 
word  he  uttered  fell  with  power  upon  my  heart. 
Conviction  of  the  truth  flashed  upon  me.  I  felt  as 
if  I  were  the  only  one  in  the  church,  and  that  every 
word  was  directed  to  me.  I  was  most  miserable. 
I  saw  I  had  been  rejecting  Christ  and  trifling  with 
God,  all  the  time  He  had  been  seeking  to  lead  me 
to  Himself  Mr.  Matheson  said  that  people  sought 
to  enter  in  and  were  not  able,  because  they  would 
not  take  Christ  as  then-  all.     I  felt  I  was  doing  that. 


Deliverance.  329 

He  spoke  also  of  the  Saviour  standing  by  the  side 
of  the  broad  way,  and  stretching  out  his  hand  to  stop 
the  sinner  in  his  hellward  course,  and  the  sinner 
pushing  aside  that  gracious  hand  and  hastening  on 
to  destruction.  I  saw  I  had  been  doing  so.  I  never 
was  in  such  an  agony.  It  was  terrible  work  now 
with  me.  The  church  was  surrounded  with  woods, 
and  oh,  how  I  longed  to  get  out  and  hide  myself  in 
them !  I  thought  I  should  wrestle  with  God  until 
I  found  Christ.  I  felt  as  if  I  could  have  given  life 
itself  to  be  reconciled  to  God :  I  could  not  bear  the 
thought  of  being  His  enemy  any  longer.  It  was 
life  or  death  with  me ;  and  I  felt  that  I  must  either 
now  be  saved  or  plunged  into  despair.  At  the  close 
Mr.  Matheson  took  me  by  the  hand  and  looked  me 
in  the  face,  and  I  burst  into  tears.  We  knelt  down 
and  prayed.  As  I  was  crying  to  God,  the  Lord  sent 
me  deliverance.  The  light  flashed  in  upon  my 
mind.  Christ  must  be  my  all,  and  none  but  Christ : 
Christ  to  trust,  Christ  to  love,  Christ  to  obey.  It 
was  no  mere  feeling,  but  a  clear  seeing  of  the  truth. 
I  saw  that  Christ  received  me,  and  that  I  was  re- 
ceived by  God  in  Him.  I  was  enabled  to  cast  my- 
self entirely  upon  Him,  and  receive  Him  as  my  all ; 
and  rose  from  my  knees  saying,  'Christ  for  me! 
none  but  Christ  for  me ! '  Peace  now  possessed  my 
heart,  the  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding.  I 
felt  as  if  I  could  not  contain  it.  Mr.  Matheson  came 
forward,  and  proposed  singing  the  first  verses  of 
the  fortieth  Psahn,  '  I  waited  for  the  Lord  my  God,' 


330  Helping  a  Soul  to  Christ, 

etc.  I  sang  this  with  all  my  heart,  for  I  knew  I 
had  just  been  taken  up  out  of  the  horrible  pit  and 
miry  clay,  and  my  feet  were  set  upon  the  Rock.  At 
the  door  a  company  of  believers  joined  me,  and  we 
were  not  afraid  to  awaken  the  echoes  with  songs  of 
praise.  Next  day  I  spoke  to  a  relative  about  her 
soul,  and  induced  her  to  attend  the  meeting.  This 
issued  in  her  conversion.  Thus  the  Lord  made  me 
instrumental  on  the  first  day  of  my  life  in  Christ  in 
helping  to  bring  a  soul  to  Him.  Would  that  every 
day  since  that  had  been  so  successful.  But  amid 
many  vicissitudes  of  experience,  and  many  short- 
comings of  heart  and  life.  He  has  kept  me  till  now, 
and  has  never  permitted  me  altogether  to  lose  my 
confidence  in  Jesus.  I  have  never  had  a  shadow 
of  regret  that  I  chose  Christ,  and,  if  I  may  judge 
from  the  past,  I  never  will.  And  as  I  witnessed  to 
his  name  at  the  first,  so  I  have,  though  with  many 
shortcomings,  done  since ;  and  so  I  trust  I  will  be 
enabled  to  do  until  I  am  called  away  to  join  in  the 
song  of  the  redeemed  on  high."  This  young  man 
is  a  student  and  a  missionary,  whose  labors  have 
already  been  blessed  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  in 
three  several  spheres  in  different  parts  of  Scotland. 
The  case  of  another  young  man,  now  an  ordained 
missionary  to  the  heathen.  "Reports  of  the  work 
of  God's  Spirit  in  America  and  Ireland  interested 
several  of  us,  and  we  began  to  meet  for  reading  and 
prayer.  I  was  specially  struck  with  the  earnest  joy 
that  the  work  appeared  to  create  in  the  hearts  of 


^^TJie  Broad  and  Narrozv   Waj/"  331 

those  wlio  shared  in  it;  and  I  remember  wishing  it 
should  visit  ourselves.  Mr.  Matheson  visited  our 
town,  and  preached  on  'the  broad  and  narrow  way.' 
Some  were  impressed ;  but  I  felt  only  the  old  vague 
desire.  Next  time  Mr.  M.  preached,  he  said,  'There 
are  some  of  us  here  that  can  lay  our  heads  peace- 
fully on  our  pillow  to-night,  in  the  assurance  that 
if  we  should  next  awake  in  eternity  we  should  be 
with  Christ.  Friend,  can  you?'  The  question  was 
for  me,  and  went  like  an  arrow  to  my  soul.  I  felt 
that  that  was  what  I  could  not  do ;  that  I  was  not 
at  peace  with  God ;  that  to  me  to  awake  in  eternity 
would  be  to  awake  in  hell !  The  words  remained 
with  me.  From  that  time  I  set  myself  earnestly  to 
seek  the  one  thing  needful ;  but  as  to  the  way  of 
finding  it  I  was  as  yet  quite  in  error.  I  thought 
there  was  a  vast  amount  of  performance  lying  to 
my  hand  before  I  could  be  accepted  of  God.  Full 
pardon  seemed  to  lie  beyond  great  hills  and  wastes, 
which  must  be  crossed  with  toilsome  steps  if  ever  I 
was  to  attain  it.  All  day  in  school  I  used  to  pray, 
and  when  school  was  over  I  went  home  and  prayed 
through  the  afternoon.  I  remember  one  day  that 
my  'doing'  received  a  special  humiliation.  A  boy, 
younger  than  myself,  provoked  me  so  much  that 
one  of  my  old  sinful  expressions  rushed  out  against 
him.  I  was  sorely  pierced ;  for  then  my  case  seemed 
hopeless,  and  all  my  past  endeavors  were  nullified. 
Mr.  M.  and  others  had  warned  us  solemnly  against 
entertaining  any  false  ground  of  comfort ;  and  that 


332  Coming  to  Jesus. 

I  might  be  preserved  from  this  was  always  a  special 
petition  in  my  cries  for  pardon.  For  several  weeks 
I  continued  to  pray  and  read,  but  no  light  seemed 
to  arise.  One  afternoon,  when  Mr.  M.  was  preach- 
ing, he  came  upon  the  expression,  'Coming  to  Jesus.' 
'But,'  said  he,  'some  of  you  are  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  coming  to  Jesus  means.  I  will  explain  it.' 
My  heart  acknowledged  its  own  darkest  difficulty; 
and  oh,  how  eagerly  did  I  listen  for  the  explana- 
tion !  I  thought  that  now  at  length  I  was  to  learn 
the  way  to  be  saved.  But,  alas!  no.  Seeking  for 
something  to  do,  I  did  not  receive  the  message  of 
the  Gospel,  that  to  loo\  to  trusty  was  to  live.  In 
this  state  of  ignorant  legality  I  continued,  though 
the  Gospel  of  a  'present  free  forgiveness  had  been 
often  declared  to  me,  till  one  afternoon,  whose 
happy  date  is  fixed  forever  in  my  memory,  I  was 
reading  James's  'Anxious  Inquirer,' when  I  came 
upon  these  two  precious  words — 'Come  unto  Me,' 
etc.  (Matt.  xi.  28),  and,  '  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  etc.  (Acts  xvi.  31).  Often  had  I  read  them 
before,  but  never  till  now  did  I  realize  them.  The 
blessed  Spirit  in  that  hour  testified  their  truth  in 
my  heart,  and  I  could  not  refrain  from  exclaiming, 
'  And  is  this  ready  all  I  have  to  do  ?  is  the  work 
really  finished?  and  have  I  but  to  receive  it  and  be 
saved  ?  '  I  wondered  that  I  could  have  read  these 
words  so  stupidly  before,  they  seemed  so  clear  now. 
Falling  on  my  knees,  I  thanked  God  over  and  over 
for  such  a  Saviour  and  so  free  a  salvation.     With 


From  Darkness  to  Light.  333 

joyous  impatience  I  ran  along  to  the  lodging  of  a 
yonng  man  who  had  been  one  of  the  first  awakened 
in  our  company;  and  when  I  met  him,  I  told  him 
with  an  overflowing  heart  how  I  saw  it  all  now, 
and  how  my  heart  was  filled  with  peace.  That  first 
view  of  Jesus  in  His  glorious  grace  can  never  fade 
from  my  recollection.  Often  since  that  afternoon 
has  my  assurance  been  clouded;  but  I  have  always 
found,  that  the  only  way  of  peace  was  to  come  again, 
as  I  did  then,  in  the  character  of  a  helpless  sinner  to 
an  Almighty  Saviour.  How  deeply  since  that  time 
I  have  wronged  the  free  love  of  God  only  Himself 
can  know ;  but  to  the  praise  of  His  grace  I  must  de- 
clare, that  there  is  all  the  former  efiicacy  in  the  blood 
of  Jesus  to  remove  the  consciousness  of  guilt.  Nor 
do  I  look  on  sin  now  with  the  same  regard  as  once. 
I  can  sincerely  say,  that  in  my  most  essential 
character  a  complete  revolution  has  been  efiected 
by  the  faith  of  Jesus,  and  that  now  the  attainment 
of  likeness  to  the  holy  Son  of  God  is  my  reigning 
desire.  How  sweet  is  the  believer's  assurance  that 
the  sinful  heart  he  now  bewails  will  soon  be  removed 
forever.  To  serve  Christ  in  love,  that  my  soul  de- 
sires above  all  other  things.  To  win  other  hearts  for 
Him,  or  to  hear  of  others  wirming  them,  is  my  joy 
of  joys.  May  the  passion  grow !  To  Him  be  all  the 
glory.     Amen." 

One  more  instance  must  suffice;  it  is  that  of  a 
young  man,  now  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  a 
successful  home  missionary.     "I  had  heard  of  the 


334  ^  M^^^  i^^  th^  Pulpit. 

revival  work;  and  being  unhappy,  I  had  serious 
thoughts  of  becoming  reKgious  and  good.  I  went 
to  hear  Mr.  Matheson.  The  place  of  meeting  was 
crowded,  and  I  could  find  a  seat  only  near  the  pul- 
pit. The  stranger  entered.  His  manner  at  once 
attracted  and  ri vetted  my  attention;  it  was  alto- 
gether so  novel  to  me.  Never  till  then  had  I  seen 
a  raajn  in  the  pulpit — only  a  minister.  In  his  whole 
bearing  there  was  such  a  striking  absence  of  all 
stiffness  and  formality.  His  prayer  touched  me: 
no  introduction,  no  formal  conclusion;  it  was  brief, 
pointed,  direct.  It  was  so  solemn,  yet  so  tender. 
Hearing  such  correspondence  with  the  living  God 
I  was  deeply  solemnized.  The  text  was  Matt.  vii. 
13.  He  spoke  of  the  work  of  grace  in  other  places, 
of  sinners  convinced,  of  souls  saved.  I  was  moved. 
But  when  the  hand  was  pointed  towards  me  in  the 
first  pew,  when  the  eye  was  fixed  on  me,  when  the 
appeal  was  made  to  me  as  to  the  state  of  my  soul, 
then  the  arrow,  swift  and  sharp  from  the  hand  of 
Jehovah,  pierced  my  heart.  I  trembled.  I  saAv  it 
at  once,  suddenly,  clearly — I  was  lost,  lost,  lost. 
Inquirers  were  requested  to  remain.  I  meant  to 
do  so,  but  a  young  man,  who  was  unimpressed, 
pushed  me  out.  Another,  a  working  man,  said  to 
me,  'Are  you  going  in?'  'Ye — es,'  I  replied,  and 
we  went  in  together.  Mr.  M.  laid  his  hand  tenderly 
on  my  shoulder  and  spoke  to  me  kindly.  His  ten- 
derness was  too  much  for  me ;  it  touched  my  mis- 
erable heart.     I  felt  that  God  was  in  righteousness 


Born  Again.  335 

against  me,  and  that  I  had  been  in  sin  against  God. 
The  hght  that  gives  conviction  and  condemnation 
was  shining  in  on  me.  I  was  standing  out  in  pain- 
ftil  nakedness  and  sohtariness:  1  was  friendless, 
hopeless.  The  first  kind  touch,  the  first  kind  Avord, 
burst  the  floodgates  of  my  soul.  Giving  vent  to 
my  surcharged  feelings  I  burst  into  tears.  They 
were  the  first  I  had  shed  for  my  soul.  We  were 
addressed,  and  each  received  a  copy  of '  The  Herald 
of  Mercy.'  But  I  found  no  rest.  Next  night  he 
preached  on  Rev.  iii.  20.  Others  were  awakened: 
many  wept :  I  trembled  still  the  more.  Five  weeks 
of  agonizing  struggle  followed.  It  was  a  long  pain. 
At  one  time  I  resolved  not  to  rise  from  my  knees 
till  I  had  obtained  salvation,  but  my  exliausted 
body  failed  me.  Again  I  vowed  and  vowed  that 
if  God  would  only  relieve  me,  I  should  serve  Him 
better  in  the  future.  It  was  a  long,  bitter,  agoniz- 
ing search  for  peace  without  reference  to  atonement 
in  Christ  Jesus,  during  which  there  was  now  and 
then  pride  of  conviction  and  new-gotten  religious- 
ness. The  grace  of  God  through  righteousness  in 
Christ  began  now  to  dawn,  softly  and  dimly  at  first 
Mr.  M.  returned  to  preach ;  and  the  word  was  with 
power.  One  evening  the  peace  of  God  that  passetb 
all  understanding  filled  my  soul.  I  felt  it  was  the 
sunrise  of  an  eternal  day.  Floods  of  light  fell  on 
me — light  stretching  up,  far  up  to  the  throne  of  God 
— light  falling  down  from  His  face  upon  my  heart. 
'God  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all.' 


336  Despisers. 

There  was  no  fear,  no  shadow,  no  bondage.  I  was 
intensely  happy.  I  saw  the  work  finished,  the  rec- 
onciHation  abeady  made,  and  reahzed  my  own  in- 
terest in  it.  Eighteonsly  in  Jesus  I  entered  into  the 
presence  of  God ;  and  graciously  I  was  accepted  and 
blessed.  I  believed  in  Jesus,  believed  in  God,  saw 
grace  righteously  and  freely  offered,  and  my  heart 
was  full  of  it.  Heaven  lay  about  me.  Earth  afford- 
ed no  comparison.  It  was  a  glorious  calm.  Old 
things  had  passed  away.  I  knew  I  had  entered  the 
kingdom;  I  was  new-born." 

The  evangelist  was  not  always  a  savor  of  life 
unto  life.  Incidents  of  a  solemn  and  affecting  char- 
acter occurred,  two  or  three  of  which  may  be  here 
narrated. 

One  day  a  woman  began  to  pour  contempt  on  the 
word  of  God,  and  shut  her  door  in  order  that  she 
might  not  be  disturbed  by  the  voice  of  the  preacher. 
He  spoke  to  her,  and  warned  her;  but  in  vain. 
Some  time  afterward  she  took  ill,  and  lay  dying. 
Remorse  seized  her,  and  in  the  agony  of  her  spirit 
she  spoke  of  Matheson,  and  cried  out,  "  He  told  me 
that  God  would  laugh  at  my  calamity,  and  mock 
me  when  my  fear  came;  and  it  is  all  true."  No 
light  came.  She  was  a  terror  to  all  who  saw  her 
die.     She  went  into  eternity  in  her  despair. 

A  man  of  violent  passions  and  avowed  hatred  to 
godliness  opposed  the  evangelist  with  much  bitter- 
ness. One  day  he  fell  a  cursing  of  Duncan  Mathe- 
son, and  died  with  the  oath  on  his  lips. 


From  the  Furnace  to  the  Sea  of  Glass.      337 

A  joung  woman  heard  him  preach  from  the  text, 
"These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment." 
Somewhat  impressed  at  the  time,  she  afterwards  re- 
sisted the  Spirit,  and  returned  to  vanity.  Death 
came  unexpectedly,  and  knocked  at  her  door.  She 
was  unprepared.  She  remembered  the  despite  she 
had  done  to  the  Spirit  of  grace,  and  as  she  died  ut- 
tered with  a  melancholy  voice  the  dreadful  words, 
"These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment." 

Such  facts  as  these  are  as  marginal  notes  written 
by  the  finger  of  Providence  on  the  borders  of  revela- 
tion. We  may  not  be  able  to  interpret  them.  None 
but  fools  will  despise  them. 


CHAPTER  .X. 

FROM  THE  FURNACE   TO   THE   SEA   OF  GLASS 
MINGLED   WITH   FIRE. 

«•  Brief  life  is  here  our  portion; 
Brief  sorrow,  short-lived  care; 
The  life  that  knows  no  ending, 
The  tearless  life  is  there. 

♦♦  Oh,  happy  retribution  ! 
Short  toil,  eternal  rest; 
For  mortals,  and  for  sinners, 
A  mansion  with  the  blest. 

"  And  now  we  fight  the  battle, 
But  then  shall  wear  the  crown 
Of  full  and  everlasting 
And  passionless  renown. 
22 


338  Visit  to  St.  Andrew's, 

*'  But  He  whom  now  we  trust  in 
Shall  then  be  seen  and  known; 
And  they  that  know  and  see  Him 
Shall  have  Him  far  their  own." 

Towards  the  close  of  1861  Duncan  Matheson  found 
himself  m  floods  of  trouble,  arising  from  his  fearless 
stand  for  vital  godliness  and  his  faithful  reproof  of 
lukewarm  religion.  Exhausted  by  gigantic  labor-#rs, 
he  sighed  for  rest,  yet  held  himself  ready  for  new 
fields  of  toil,  and  longed  to  win  fresh  trophies  for 
his  great  Master.  He  was  persecuted,  but  not  for- 
saken; cast  down,  but  not  destroyed.  "Come,"  said 
he  one  day  to  a  "  companion  in  tribulation  and  in 
the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,"  "come, 
and  let  us  visit  St.  Andrew's,  and  see  the  place  where 
the  old  Scottish  heroes  fought  their  good  fight;  it 
will  stir  and  cheer  us,  and  perhaps  God  will  give  us 
of  their  martyr  spirit."  Accordingly  they  went  and 
saw  the  place  where  George  Wishart  was  burned  to 
be  a  light  to  Scotland  to  the  end  of  time;  where 
Knox  thundered  defiance  to  Rome,  and  proved  him- 
self a  match  for  mail-clad  hosts ;  and  where  saintly 
Rutherford,  pattern- witness  for  the  truth  not  less  in 
his  sound  teaching  and  masterly  logic  than  in  his 
rapturous  piety  and  blameless  life,  labored,  and 
prayed,  and  suffered,  and  fell  asleep,  saying,  "  Glory, 
glory  dwelleth  in  Immanuel's  land."  After  they  had 
visited  every  spot  of  historic  interest,  they  laid  them- 
selves down  on  the  grave  of  Rutherford,  and  all  alone 
with  their  faces  on  the  dust  they  wept  and  prayed, 


Rutherford's  Grave.  339 

praising  God  for  all  He  has  done  for  Scotland,  and 
entreating  for  their  dear  country  with  many  suppli- 
cations, and  tears,  another  and  a  complete  reforma- 
tion in  tlie  awakening  of  the  churches,  and  the  con- 
version of  all  the  people  in  the  land.  Here  too,  with 
the  tears  dropping  from  their  eyes  upon  the  grass, 
they  consecrated  themselves  anew  to  the  service  and 
glory  of  God  their  Saviour,  begging  with  heart- 
breaking earnestness  for  grace  to  be  faithful  even 
unto  death.  Here  too  they  sang  praise.  The  words 
of  the  psalm  were  joyfully  recalled — 

"For  sure  the  Lord  will  not  cast  off 

Those  that  his  people  be, 
Neither  his  own  inheritance 

Quit  and  forsake  will  he  : 
But  judgment  unto  righteousness 

Shall  yet  return  again, 
And  all  shall  follow  after  it 

That  are  right-hearted  men." 

As  they  sang  "Eock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me,"  they 
realized  at  once  their  security  in  the  great  Cove- 
nant-Head, and  their  oneness  with  redeemed  men 
of  every  age:  and  on  the  spot  where  saints  and 
martyrs  repose  so  calmly  they  could  sing,  "There 
is  rest  for  the  weary"  Avith  unwonted  joy.  Thus 
they  were  strengthened  for  the  sore  toil  and  travail 
that  still  awaited  them. 

Some  may  feel  disposed  to  set  this  down  as  sen- 
timentalism.  But  if  fellowship  with  God  and  with 
his  saints  be  sentimentalism,  if  sympathy  with  Christ 


340  Scottish  CJiristianity. 

in  his  blood-baptized  cause,  and  with  those  that 
suffered  for  the  love  they  bore  Him  be  sentimental- 
fism,  if  prayers  and  tears  for  a  lost  world  that  still 
goeth  on  in  its  mad  way  of  cursing  and  casting 
out  its  best  friends  be  sentimentalism,  then  I  say, 
Heaven  send  us  more  of  it.  Scotchmen  are  said  to 
have  hard  heads:  but  triply  hard  is  the  heart  of 
that  Scotchman  who  can  drink  at  the  springs  of 
his  country's  greatness  and  not  be  filled  as  with  new 
wine.  The  ashes  of  the  martyrs  never  grow  cold ; 
and  dull  must  the  Christian  spirit  be  that  is  not 
fired  with  new  zeal  at  the  sight  of  those  hallowed 
spots  whence  flamed  up  to  heaven  and  far  out  upon 
the  world's  night  Scotland's  testimony  to  Christ, 
which  is  our  country's  truest  glory.  Happily  the 
echoes  of  that  testimony  linger  about  ten  thousand 
hearths,  and  come  back  with  strange  power  on  ten 
times  ten  thousand  hearts;  nor  will  the  sweetly 
solemn  reverberations  of  those  martyr-voices  die  till 
they  merge  in  the  sounds  of  the  last  trump. 

This  incident  marked  an  epoch  in  the  life  of  our 
evangelist.  Scottish  Christianity  has  been  charac- 
terized by  the  pre-eminently  high  and  holy  place 
assigned  by  it  to  the  crown  rights  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
as  the  Church's  sole  Head  and  King.  Duncan 
Matheson  was  thoroughly  of  that  spirit.  His  mar- 
tial, loyal,  heroic  nature  must  needs  love,  serve, 
fight,  and  suffer  for  a  King.  Fondly  and  unceas- 
ingly as  he  preached  the  atonement  of  Jesus,  and 
thus  recognized  the  Priest  and  the  one  great  Sacri- 


*'/  Am  Going  to  See  the  Kingr  341 

fice  for  sin,  the  chief  enthusiasm  of  his  personal 
devotion  to  the  Lord,  in  all  the  labor  and  turmoil 
of  his  life,  seemed  to  take  rise  scarcely  so  much  in 
the  love  he  bore  his  Saviour  as  in  the  passionate 
loyalty  he  felt  for  his  King.  And  this  noble  affec- 
tion grew  more  and  more  intense  to  the  end  of  his 
life:  it  was  still  to  the  last,  "the  King!  the  King!" 
When  the  last  campaign  was  over,  and  the  end  drew 
near,  one  of  his  frequent  utterances  was,  "  I  am  going 
to  see  the  King." 

After  that  last  and  fullest  consecration  of  himself 
to  God  at  the  grave  of  Samuel  Eutherford,  a  remark- 
able change  was  noticed  in  him  by  his  more  inti- 
mate friends.  His  faith  now  took  a  higher  flight. 
Henceforth  he  spoke  everywhere  and  always  of 
"going  home."  "0  how  near  eternity  seems,"  he 
was  ever  saying:  "We'll  soon  be  home."  "That 
man  breathes  the  very  atmosphere  of  heaven,"  said 
some  who  met  him.  When  a  young  man  he  had 
a  presentiment  that  he  would  not  live  long :  middle 
life,  he  said,  would  see  his  sun  set.  The  hope  of  the 
Gospel  now  taught  him  to  think  of  the  sun  rising  in 
another  sphere  rather  than  of  its  setting  in  this. 
"  Heaven  will  literally  be  a  rest  to  me,"  was  his  fre- 
quent saying.  In  consequence  of  his  incessant, 
fatiguing,  and  often  most  painful  labors,  his  mind 
naturally  enough  contemplated  heaven  as  a  rest. 
All  the  spiritual  songs  of  the  coming  glory  c/ere 
now  peculiarly  sweet  to  his  heart.  But  the  if  eling 
did  not  evaporate  in  mere  singing  or  in  thr  indul 


342  An   Unbroken  Day  of  Toil. 

gence  of  pleasant  thoughts.  It  was  in  him,  as  all 
his  beliefs  were,  a  most  powerful  motive  to  work 
for  Christ  and  win  souls.  "You  are  hurting  your- 
self," we  said  to  him.  "Souls  are  perishing,"  was 
his  invariable  reply.  "But  you  should  take  rest." 
"  Nonsense !  we'll  rest  in  heaven."  Some  may  think 
he  carried  this  too  far :  but  he  had  no  idea  of  what 
is  called  "settling  in  life."  A  mighty  power  was 
working  in  him.  How  could  he  rest?  His  soul  was 
in  the  agonies  of  travail.  And  till  disease  struck 
liim  down  the  years  that  elapsed  were  one  unbroken 
day  of  toil  for  the  saving  of  the  lost. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  more  active  life,  although 
he  did  not  abate  one  jot  of  his  manly  frankness,  his 
uncompromising  faithfulness,  and  his  fearless  testi- 
mony, a  mellowing  influence  was  clearly  at  work  in 
him.  His  prayers  grew  more  childlike  and  tender ; 
his  addresses,  whilst  not  less  searching  and  faithful, 
were  more  deeply  solemn,  and  more  tearfully  com- 
passionate ;  and  the  big  heart  of  the  man,  like  an 
overflowing  well,  gushed  out  in  streams  of  genuine 
kindness  and  Christian  love. 

Little  did  we  imagine,  when  he  stood  up  on  a 
gloomy  November  night  in  1866,  in  Hjlltown  Fr^e 
Church,  where  his  voice  had  often  been  accompa- 
nied with  more  than  human  power,  that  we  were 
listening  to  his  last  addi'ess  in  Dundee.  His  text 
was  "  Remember  Lot's  wife."  Lot's  wife,  he  said — 
I  here'  give  not  his  words,  but  the  spirit  of  them — 
Lot's  wife  had  many  privileges,  but  she  perished. 


His  Last  Address  in  Dundee.  343 

Lot's  wife  had  a  godly  hiisband,  but  she  perished. 
Lot's  wife  had  often  been  prayed  for,  but  she  per- 
ished. Lot's  wife  had  a  good  example  set  her,  but 
she  perished.  Lot's  wife  had  been  warned  by  God, 
but  she  perished.  Lot's  wife  saw  her  danger,  but 
she  perished.  Lot's  wife  was  led  by  angels  out  of 
Sodom,  but  she  perished.  Lot's  wife  was  nearly 
saved,  but  she  perished.  Lot's  wife  only  looked 
round,  and  she  was  damned  for  that  look.  She 
lingered  when  she  should  have  made  haste,  and 
God  left  her.  Mercy  drew  her,  but  she  grieved 
Mercy,  and  Mercy  forsook  her.  Where  IMercy  left 
her,  Justice  found  her,  and  Destruction  seized  her. 
She  loved  Sodom,  and  would  love  Sodom,  and  God 
gave  her  her  bad  love  to  the  full.  The  Lord  took 
her  out  of  Sodom,  but  she  took  Sodom  out  of  Sodom 
with  her.  "Let  me  get  a  last  look  at  my  idol," 
she  said ;  and  she  got  a  Icisi  look  with  a  vengeance. 
"  She  is  joined  to  her  idols,"  said  the  jealous  God: 
"Let  her  alone;"  and  she  was  let  terribly  alone: 
she  became  a  pillar  of  salt.  Sodom  was  more  to  her 
than  her  daughters,  her  husband,  her  soul,  or  God. 
In  judgment  she  was  wedded  to  her  evil  choice: 
she  entered  eternity  in  fellowship  with  those  that 
suffer  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire. 

Ah,  friends,  you  see  how  near  being  saved  you 
may  be,  and  yet  never  know  salvation.  Privileges 
and  means  of  grace  may  be  yours,  and  yet  you  may 
never  enter  heaven.  You  may  sit  at  the  Lord's  table 
and  sing  of  salvation,  and  after  all  be  cast  away. 


344  Zd?/'j   Wi/e. 

You  may  feel  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit,  and  yet  be 
lost.  You  may  break  off  from  some  sins  and  do 
many  things,  and  in  the  end  go  down  to  destruc- 
tion. You  may  be  all  but  saved,  and  at  last  find 
that  from  the  very  gate  of  heaven  there  is  a  path 
to  hell.  Anxious  inquirer,  you  are  out  of  Sodom, 
but  not  out  of  danger ;  you  are  on  the  plain,  but 
not  in  the  place  of  refuge.  Flee  to  Christ.  Es- 
cape for  thy.  life.  Backslider,  you  are  just  where 
Lot's  wife  was  when  the  devouring  fire  overtook 
her.  She  was  looking  back;  so  are  you.  Remem- 
ber Lot's  wife.  "  If  any  man  draw  back,  my  soul 
shall  have  no  pleasure  in  him  "  (Heb.  x.  38).  Pro- 
crastinator,  you  are  trifling  with  your  soul  and 
with  God.  There  is  no  fear  of  judgment,  you  think. 
How  do  you  know?  The  sin  of  Lot's  wife  is  your 
sin:  take  heed  lest  her  fate  be  yours.  You  may 
die  to-night:  what  then?  And  if  you  live,  God 
may  give  you  your  own  way  and  let  you  alone. 
Let  alone,  left  behind  by  the  merciful  God !  To  be 
fixed  in  sin,  to  be  a  pillar  of  salt,  a  soul  encrusted 
with  judicial  hardness,  as  good  as  damned,  how 
terrible ! 

"  There  is  a  time,  we  know  not  when, 
A  point  we  know  not  where, 
That  marks  the  destiny  of  men 
To  glory  or  despair. 

"  There  is  a  line  by  us  unseen,' 
That  crosses  every  path  ; 
The  hidden  boundary  between 
God's  patience  and  his  wrath." 


Preaching  at  the  Fair.  345 

With  heart,  voice,  and  eye  overflowing  with 
tenderness,  he  plead  with  his  hearers  to  flee  to  the 
refuge — to  Jesus.  The  people  were  deeply  moved, 
and  some  of  them,  among  the  rest  a  man  who  is 
now  a  zealous  office-bearer  in  a  church,  have  a 
blessed  remembrance  of  that  night,  as  the  time 
when  they  entered  the  ark  and  for  them  God  shut 
the  door  of  covenant  security  in  Christ. 

In  the  same  month,  November,  he  went  to  the 
feeing  markets  in  Aberdeenshire.  At  Ellon  his 
sufferings  were  such  as  he  never  recovered  from. 
Here,  drenched  with  ceaseless  showers,  and  shiver- 
ing in  fierce  hail-blasts  of  no  ordinary  violence,  he 
stood  all  day  in  the  mud,  and  delivered  his  last 
testimony  for  Christ  amidst  the  din  and  strife  of 
the  fair.  "  We  must  not  lower  the  standard,"  said 
he,  in  reference  to  his  trying  work.  Nor  did  he 
lower  the  standard,  for  the  standard-bearer  fell  in 
the  very  front  of  the  battle.  On  returning  south 
he  revisited  Kirriemuir,  Alyth,  and  other  places, 
spending  the  last  night  of  the  year  with  the  Chris- 
tians in  Forfar,  whence  he  writes  to  his  wife : 

"Forfar,  January  1st,  1867.  A  happy  New  Year 
to  you,  my  dearest  M.  The  Lord  bless  you  very 
abundantly.  As  the  clock  struck  the  knell  of  the 
departing  year  I  was  praying  for  you.  My  heart 
was  with  you  all.  Ah,  my  beloved,  we  may  sing, 
sweetly  sing.  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things 
for  us.  We  may  raise  our  Ebenezer.  Now  we 
know  not  what  may  be  before  us  this  year;  but 


346  His  Failing  Health. 

never  mind,  all  will  be  well.  The  Lord  will  break 
up  our  way.  He  will  lead  us  aright.  He  is  our 
own  God.  Give  each  of  our  pets  a  New  Year  kiss 
from  father.  I  may  be  able  to  come  and  give  it 
myself  to  them  to-morrow.  If  I  am  with  you  by 
11  A.M.  you  will  see  me;  and  if  not,  it  will  be  be- 
cause of  the  work.  I  will  try  at  any  rate,  but 
must  return  at  night.  We  had  a  blessed  time  last 
night.  We  met  at  nine,  and  separated  at  half-past 
twelve  o'clock.  It  was  very,  very  solemn.  I  took 
the  superintendence  of  the  meeting.  Very  seldom 
have  I  seen  such  a  meeting — so  much  power  and 
evident  blessing.  A  great  cryjbr  help  comes  from 
many  places.  I  do  trust  that  1867  will  be  a  year 
of  greater  blessing  than  any  before  it." 

About  the  middle  of  January  he  set  out  for  Ork- 
ney ;  but  in  consequence  of  a  severe  snow-storm,  it 
was  only  after  making  extraordinary  efforts  that  he 
was  enabled  to  reach  Aberdeen.  There  he  was 
arrested  by  the  disease,  diabetes,  which  ultimately 
carried  him  to  the  grave.  With  the  sentence  of 
death  in  him  he  returned  to-  Perth,  and  thence 
without  delay  went  up  to  Edinburgh,  where  he 
sought  advice  from  the  late  eminent  physician.  Sir 
James  Simpson.  Little  hope  of  recovery  was  held 
out  to  him ;  nevertheless,  the  ruling  passion  stirred 
in  him,  and  he  addressed  a  meeting,  ill  as  he  was, 
in  the  house  of  Mr.  Barbour.  On  returning  home 
he  suddenly  grew  worse,  and  in  his  fevered  condi- 
tion fell  into  unconsciousness.     But  whilst  reason 


At  Limpley  Stoke.  *        347 

slept,  the  gracious  heart  was  all  awake,  and  his 
talk  was  constantly  of  Jesus  and  souls  and  eternity. 
Fancying  that  he  was  addressing  the  students  of 
the  New  College,  Edinburgh,  he  cried  out,  "Young 
men,  young  men,  down  with  books  and  up  with 
Christ!  Souls  are  perishing!  souls  are  perishing! 
Up,  and  aim  at  saving  sinners."  Noble  spirit,  in 
thy  very  wanderings  wise  and  good ! 

On  recovering  a  measure  of  strength,  he  went  in 
April  to  Limpley  Stoke,  near  Bath,  where  he  sought 
rest  and  restoration  in  the  hydropathic  establish- 
ment.   A  few  of  his  letters  will  be  read  with  interest : 

"Limpley  Stoke,  near  Bath,  13th  April,  1867. 
"My  Dear  Mrs.  B ,  I  cannot  tell  you  how  glad- 
dened I  was  by  your  kind  letter.  Away  from  home, 
among  strangers,  sick,  one  likes  to  see  old  friends 
have  not  forgotten  them.  I  knew  neither  you  nor 
Mr.  B.  would,  nor  many  of  the  flock  to  whom  I 
have  so  often  spoken,  and  to  whom  if  it  please  God, 
I  hope  to  speak  again — though  not  this  Whit-Sun- 
day— after  Turriff  market.  Markets,  I  fear,  if  I 
should  be  spared,  must  be  left  now  to  others.  My 
day,  I  fear,  is  done  with  them,  and  with  much 
rough  work  besides.  It  has  been  a  trying  time. 
I  cannot  tell  you  all  I  have  passed  through  for 
three  months,  nor  recount  to  you  the  loving  kind- 
ness of  our  God.  Oh,  how  good  He  has  been! 
How  tenderly  He  has  watched  over  me!  How 
bounteously  He  has  provided  for  me !     I  have  been 


348  ^'Even  so,  Father^ 

treading  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  Hstening  to  its 
flow  as  it  rolled  along,  but  all  has  been  peace  with- 
in. All  has  been  calm,  unruffled.  I  have  had  no 
fears,  and  at  the  worst  was  helped  to  say,  "Even 
so.  Father,"  etc. 

"  A  greater  trial  than  even  leaving  my  beloved 
wife  penniless  on  a  cold  world,  and  children  loved 
with  tenderest  affection,  was  the  thought  of  leaving 
the  loved  work  of  bringing  souls  to  Jesus.  Away 
from  it — dumb,  one  sees  its  greatness,  and  heaven, 
hell,  God,  salvation,  eternity,  stand  out  as  great 
realities.  I  had  long  battled  with  the  storm,  long 
tried  to  do  something  on  the  field,  and  God  saw  fit 
to  put  His  hand  on  me  even  when  success  in  His 
work  was  at  its  highest.  We  shall  know  all  one 
day;  the  web  is  rapidly  weaving,  and  in  glory  its 
finish  will  be  bright,  shining  in  perfect  holiness. 
Hallelujah!     I  have  been  six  weeks  from  home. 

How  wondrous  the   Lord's  raising  up  Mr.  J 

M ,  of  London,  to  keep  me  here.     He  has  been 

as  a  brother,  and  I  lack  nothing,  as  he  is  paying  all 
costs.  There  was  no  hope  of  my  getting  better  at 
home,  and  I  can  say  it  has  been  good  to  be  here.  I 
cannot  tell  you  exactly  how  I  am.  My  general 
health  is  better,  but  as  yet  the  disease  is  apparently 
not  touched.  It  is  greatly  kept  under,  and  I  am  not 
without  hope,  in  answer  to  much  prayer  offered  and 
ofi'ering  up,  I  may  be  so  far  cured  as  to  be  able  to 
preach.  It  is  a  strange,  mysterious  disease,  but  the 
Lord  can  heal  it.    I  am  not  allowed  to  preach,  read, 


In  a  Nezv  School.  349 

or  write,  though  I  cannot  refrain  from  sending  this 
to  you.  To-day  I  feel  strong.  To-morrow  I  may 
be  weak.  I  often  think  of  you  all,  and  am  with 
you  in  spirit.  May  the  dew  of  heaven  be  on  your 
beloved  husband  and  his  flock.  It  is  a  dying  scene. 
All  around  this  death  reigns.  Poor,  poor  England  ! 
Highly  favored  Scotland !  If  I  could  preach  I  would. 
Revival  all  around  this  is  unknown.     ]\Iy  wife  left 

three  days  ago  for  home,  going  to  see  Miss  M 

on  her  way.  Amidst  all  her  watching,  etc.,  she 
has  been  greatly  supported.     Give  my  love  to  Mr. 

B ,  Miss  F ,  and  all  friends.     Pray  for  me. 

I  do  hope  there  is  room  to  encourage  faith  in  my 
better  condition  for  the  last  week.  I  commend  you 
to  the  Lord.  It  is  long  since  we  met,  going  to  Aber- 
deen in  the  '  Defiance '  coach.  How  many  are  gone 
since  !  We  too  shall  soon  go.  Blessed  be  the  Lord, 
it  is  home.  There  is  sweet  rest  in  heaven.  God 
bless  you. 

"  Yours  in  Jesus,         Duncan  Matheson." 

TO  MRS.   J.    s. 

"  Limpley  Stoke,  near  Bath,  18th  April,  1867. 

"  My  Dear  Friend  :  Many,  many  a  time  I  think  of 

you  and  of  all  the  S s  of  that  Ilk.    You  are  often 

very  near  my  heart,  and  the  prayer  for  blessing  on 
each  has  often  gone  up  from  me  here  where  I  am 
living,  at  the  back  of  Horeb. 

"  Like  an  old  hulk  disabled,  I  lie  passive — no  easy 
thing  for  a  restless  Bedouin  like  me.    I  am  in  a  new 


350  The  Banks  of  the  Dark  River. 

school,  and  if  I  learn  my  lessons  well  I  may  be  able 
yet  to  comfort  many  and  give  them  a  lift  Zionward. 
Eutherford  says :  '  Oh,  how  much  I  owe  to  the  file 
and  hammer  of  the  dear  Lord  Jesus ! '  Can  we  not 
say  the  same  ? 

"  Tenderly,  lovingly,  and  in  a  fatherly  way,  has 
the  Lord  dealt  with  me.  How  gently  He  has  held 
the  cup  to  my  lips !  How  much  of  mercy  (yea,  it's 
all  mercy)  has  been  mingled  with  my  lot !  I  have 
been  standing  by  the  banks  of  the  dark  river,  and 
have  listened  to  its  flow,  and  yet  have  not  been 
afraid.  I  have  been  on  the  verge  of  eternity,  and 
could  sing  for  joy.  Ah,  there  is  no  god  hke  our  God ! 
no  rock  like  our  Rock ! 

"  Right  glad  was  I  to  meet  Mrs.  C on  my  way 

here.  I  could  scarcely  credit  it.  Short  as  my  inter- 
view was,  it  sent  me  along  more  cheerfully.  My 
heart  was  much  set  on  coming  to  see  you  all;  but 
the  Lord  arranged  diflerently.  .  .  It  is  a  strange 
and  fickle  disease,  and  if  I  should  be  ever  again  as 
before,  it  will  be  a  special  forth-putting  of  divine 
power.  I  long  for  the  loved  work  of  bringing  souls 
to  Jesus.  I  long  to  be  on  the  battle-field.  I  long  to 
sing  over  the  slain  of  the  Lord,  and  shout  '  victory ' 
because  He  has  done  it.  Sometimes  I  hope  I  shall. 
All  is  in  his  hands.  The  sheep  in  the  wilderness  I 
feel  for.  The  lambs'  bleating  goes  to  my  heart.  I 
pity  the  lost.  It  is  only  at  times  we  can  realize  sin, 
salvation,  heaven,  hell,  eternity,  as  great  realities. 
How  soon  shall  all  have  passed  here  \     Life  ought  to 


Longing  for  the  Children,  351 

be  an  earnest  matter,  seeing  we  have  only  one.  .  . 
And  now  I  must  close.  May  all  blessing  rest  on 
you  and  yours.  We  are  under  the  shadow  of  His 
wings.  We  are  safe  in  His  arms.  We  move  along 
the  rugged  pathway  to  that  land  where  no  sigh  is 
heard  nor  sorrow  known,  where  not  a  cloud  darkens 
the  sky.  Ah,  we  shall  soon  know  about  the  palms, 
harps,  crowns  of  glory !  Forever  ivith  the  Lord ! 
Once  again  I  pray  for  blessings  on  you  all. 

"  Ever  yours  in  a  loving  Lord, 

"Duncan  Matheson." 


TO    HIS    WIFE. 

"Limpley  Stoke,  May  13th. 
"Another  morning  dawned,  my  beloved  M- 


and  another  week  begun.  How  they  do  glide  away ! 
How  quickly  they  run!  Soon  all  will  be  done,  all 
will  end.  The  vast  eternity  lies  before.  Many  in 
heaven !  many  in  hell !  No  day  there !  no  star  of 
hope!  no  rest!  no  rest!  no  rest!  Saved  from  hell, 
we  should  sing  all  the  way.  We  should  never  mur- 
mur. Ah,  how  the  thought  should  still  be,  '  I  shall 
never  be  in  devouring  fire !  I  shall  never  lie  down 
in  everlasting  burnings ! '  As  the  song  of  heaven 
shall  never  end,  neither  shall  the  wail  of  hell.  May 
the  Lord  save  our  children !  I  long  to  see  them  in 
the  ark.  They  will  be  brought.  Don't  let  us  ever 
doubt  it  for  a  moment.  We  had  a  blessed  day  yes- 
terday— a  sweet  word  from  Mr.  T .  .  The  Lord 


352  In  Jersey. 

can  restore  me  fully;  but  patience  must  have  her 
perfect  work." 

"Limpley  Stoke,  May  15th. 
"How  few  realize  the  solemnity  of  eternity!  I 
feel  for  the  people.  They  are  dying,  perishing, 
going  to  destruction !  Oh  that  God  in  infinite  love 
would  save!  I  long  to  be  in  the  field  again,  but 
must  possess  my  soul  in  patience.  I  am  glad  I  do 
feel  as  I  do.  It's  joy  to  be  able  to  do  some  little 
work  for  God.  I  cannot  express  it.  My  whole  sys- 
tem feels  as  if  it  partook  of  joy.  If  not  able  to 
preach,  I  may  for  some  time  be  able  to  get  tracts 
ready,  and  many  things.  I  hope  Lizzie  is  getting 
on  with  her  spelling  and  reading.  She  will  try  and 
be  able  to  read  to  me  the  90th  Psalm  when  I 
come  home.  How  I  do  long  to  see  them  (the  chil- 
dren), and  yet  the  Lord  keeps  my  mind  at  rest.  It 
has  been  all  love." 

Leaving  Limpley  Stoke  in  May,  he  went  to  Jer- 
sey. He  is  charmed  with  the  scenery,  praises  God 
for  all  he  beholds  of  the  divine  glory  on  land  and 
sea,  and  often  wishes  his  wife  were  by  his  side  to 
share  his  delight.  "But  we  shall  see  grander 
sights,"  he  adds:  "we  shall  see  the  King  in  His 
beauty,  and  the  land  that  is  afar  off."  But  the  sce- 
nery is  not  the  great  thing ;  it  is  the  souls  of  the 
perishing.  In  a  certain  town  he  sees  the  walls  cov- 
ered with  placards  announcing  that  Dean  this  and 


In  Nonnandy.  353 

Eev.  that  will  lectm-e  on  Shakespeare,  etc.,  and  his 
heart  bleeds. 

From  Jersey  he  proceeds  to  St.  Sei^an,  in  Nor- 
mandy; but  the  disease  has  fastened  on  him,  and 
will  not  let  him  go.  Not  a  breath  of  murmur 
escapes  his  lips.  He  is  full  of  comfort,  and  often 
writes  to  cheer  the  beloved  partner  of  his  life,  whose 
heart  droops  on  his  account.  Often  he  breaks  out 
in  praise.  "  Oh  praise  the  Lord,  0  my  soul.  How 
wondrous  His  love !  At  times  it  quite  overpowers 
me.     Oh  for  grace,  grace  to  love  His  Holy  Name ! 

When  I  think  of  others  I  am  humbled.     Poor 

and  his  family  several  times  last  winter  had  only 
meal  in  the  house.  He  told  me  so.  Oh,  how  good 
the  Lord  is!" 

TO    MRS.    J.    S. 

"St.  Servan,  Normandy,  France,  27th  May,  1867. 

"My  Dear  Christian  Friend:  Your  kind  letter 
reached  me  at  Limpley  Stoke I  con- 
gratulate you  on  the  bii-th  of  another  son.  The  Lord 
bless  him,  and  early  implant  grace,  that,  if  spared, 
he  may  be  a  great  blessing.  We  can  take  our  chil- 
dren to  Jesus  and  not  be  rejected.  They  are  dear 
to  Him.  I  like  to  grasp  the  promise,  'To  thee  and 
to  thy  seed.'  Our  charge,  our  responsibility,  is 
great;  but  the  great  burden-bearer  will  take  all. 
Oh,  how  He  loves !  The  height,  depth,  breadth,  we 
cannot  fathom.  The  length  we  may  have  some  dim 
idea  of,  but  cannot  understand. 
23 


354  Alone  in  a  Strange  Land. 

"I  left  Limpley  some  time  ago  better  of  my  so- 
journ there.  I  do  feel  stronger,  but  the  disease  still 
remains.  It  seems  to  have  got  firmly  intrenched; 
but  the  Lord  can  remove  it,  and  no  one  else.  The 
more  I  see  of  doctors,  the  more  do  I  see  they  know 
little  of  it.  As  yet  its  seat  is  a  mystery.  Some 
days  I  think  it  is  almost  gone ;  and  next  day  I  feel 
great  weakness.  But  all  is  in  a  Father's  hand,  and 
such  a  Father  too  1  I  would  not  it  were  otherwise 
than  He  chooses. 

"  I  long  to  get  home,  and  may  in  course  of  a  fort- 
night. My  dear  wife  and  children  I  have  not  seen 
for  long  now.  They  are  well.  She  longs  to  meet 
you  all.  We  shall  see  if  it  can  be  arranged  her 
meeting  me  at  Edinburgh,  and  both  coming  on. 
We  shall  see  as  the  Lord  directs. 

"I  am  all  alone  in  this  strange  land,  unknown  to 
any,  and  knowing  no  one.  Poor,  poor  France !  You 
can  have  no  idea  of  the  perfect  despotism  that  reigns. 
No  happy  smile  seems  to  light  up  the  people's  coun- 
tenances. There  is  a  restlessness  and  a  yearning 
after  something — they  know  not  what.  Alas,  alas ! 
no  Gospel  is  preached,  no  salvation  made  known, 
and,  so  far  as  can  be  seen,  no  souls  saved.  I  often 
almost  weep  as  I  see  the  masses  here  rushing  on  to 
eternity,  not  knowing  that '  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  He  gave  his  only-begotten  Son.'  God  will  not 
forget  the  prayers  of  many  a  martyred  Huguenot. 
The  soil  of  France  was  drenched  with  their  blood. 
The  cry,  'How  long,  Lord,  how  long,'  has  gone  up 


ChateaubriancT s  Grave.  355 

from  those  beneath  the  altar.  Many  a  time  on  en- 
tering the  churches  here,  and  seeing  the  mummery 
on  every  side,  have  I  prayed,  '  Lord,  send  thy  Hght 
forth  and  thy  truth ;'  and  often  have  I  blessed  God 
Scotland  had  a  Knox,  a  Cameron,  a  Cargill,  and  a 
Peden. 

"  I  was  looking  to-day  at  the  grave  of  the  great 
Chateaubriand,  who  is  buried  on  a  small  island  off 
this  place,  and  asking  what  now  is  all  the  glory  he 
had?  All  has  perished.  Only  shall  the  righteous 
be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance.  Ah !  my  be- 
loved friend,  ours  is  a  glorious  hope,  ours  is  a  great 
reward.  ^\niat  things  are  in  the  light  of  eternity, 
and  that  alone,  is  worth,  and  ought  to  be  looked  at. 
To  live  for  Christ,  our  motto  noAV,  To  be  with  Him 
— what  shall  it  be?  I  do  long  to  go  forth  again. 
Had  I  been  in  health,  I  would  have  been  speaking 
to  masses  with  God's  blue  sky  overhead  and  his 
presence  realized.  Open-air  preaching  is  glorious, 
though  hard  work.  I  hear  from  Kirriemuir  and  For- 
far that  the  converts  go  well  on.  Cullen  still  retains 
the  blessing.  I  long  to  hear  of  Melrose  and  Little 
Darnick.  It  will  come.  Let  faith  be  strengthened. 
What  God  is  doing  in  other  places.  He  can  do  with 

you.     My  kindest  love  to  your  beloved  J ,  to 

Mrs.  C ,  and  all  the  S s.     Kindly  omit  no 

one.     To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B and  A ,  etc.,  etc. 

Now  I  must  finish,  as  I  have  a  good  deal  to  do.  I 
send  you  Psalm  cxxi.  6  and  Deut.  xxxii.  9.  We 
are  marching  home.     Every  march  shall  yet  become 


356  Return  to  Scotland. 

an  Elim.     He  will  take  the  stumbling-blocks  out  of 
the  way.     He  will  lead  and  guide.     His  everlasting 
arms  are  around  and  underneath.     He  keeps  us  as 
the  apple  of  his  eye.     Hold !  is  it  not  enough  ? 
"Ever  yours  in  Christ  Jesus, 

"Duncan  Matheson." 

In  July  he  returned  to  Scotland,  and  for  a  while 
stayed  at  Bervie,  where  he  set  up  a  daily  prayer- 
meeting.  From  Bervie  he  went  to  Braemar,  and 
from  Braemar  to  Aberdeen,  still  seeking  to  recover 
health  and  win  souls.  Health  was  denied  him ;  souls 
were  given  him.  From  Aberdeen  he  went  to  Duff- 
town, which  had  been  much  laid  on  his  heart  in 
prayer.  The  weak  man  was  strong  to  bear  this 
burden  before  the  Lord.  His  prayers  were  marvel- 
lously answered.  Here  God  began  to  work  by  him, 
and  several  were  added  to  the  Lord.  At  a  social 
meeting  held  on  the  evening  of  the  first  day  of  the 
following  year,  he  delivered  an  address  of  extraor- 
dinary power,  and  a  considerable  number  were  con- 
verted. From  Dufftown  he  retraced  his  steps  to 
Aberdeen. 

His  soul  is  on  fire.  "I  would  gladly  give  all  1 
have,"  he  writes  to  his  wife,  "to  be  once  more  out 
preaching  Jesus.  It  is  a  great  and  glorious  work. 
I  bless  God  I  was  called  to  it.  The  work  done  is 
done  for  eternity.  All  other  things  will  soon  end. 
.  .  .  Tell  Lizzie  I  long  to  hear  of  her  becoming 
a  child  of  God,  a  lamb  in  Christ's  fold.     Tell  her  I 


At  Darnlee.  357 

long  very  much.  Tell  Duncan  I  wish  him  to  cleave 
to  Jesus.  Tell  Mary  I  long  to  know  she  has  a  new 
heart.  Tell  them  I  wish  them  all  to  be  in  heaven 
with  us  to  praise  forever.  I  feel  being  away  from 
them,  but  it  is  the  Lord,  and  all  is  well." 

In  the  beginning  of  1868  he  went  to  reside  for  a 
few  weeks  with  his  Christian  friends  at  Darnlee,  in 
the  south  of  Scotland.  Here  again  the  fire  burned. 
He  could  not  rest.  Gathering  together  the  people 
of  Darnick,  a  village  in  the  neighborhood,  he  in- 
dulged once  more  in  the  luxury  of  preaching  Christ. 
Immediately  there  was  a  sound  and  a  stir  among 
the  dry  bones.  The  Spirit  of  God  began  to  work 
gloriously  among  the  dead.  The  movement,  though 
confined  within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  village  and 
adjacent  country,  was  a  remarkable  one:  men  and 
women  were  brought  to  the  Lord.  Happening  to 
meet  him  at  this  time,  I  asked  how  he,  who  was 
suffering  from  a  terrible  malady,  could  do  so  much 
work.  His  reply  was  characteristic.  "Ah!"  said 
he,  "the  Lord  saw  that  I  was  very  weak,  and  just 
worked  all  the  more  Himself" 

In  spring  he  went  to  Carlsbad,  Bohemia,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  waters.  On  his  way  to  the  Continent 
he  writes  from  Tmibridge  Wells  to  Miss  M : 

"  My  Dear  Friend  :  Mary  has  sent  me  your  note 
here.  I  left  Perth  about  ten  days  ago,  and  have 
been  in  Hampshire  and  London.  I  went  to  see  Ma- 
jor Gibson.  He  is  very  ill.  I  am  here  for  a  few 
days  in  a  palace.     The  proprietor,  Mr.  E ,  is  a 


358  ''Keptr 

man  of  God.  I  scarcely  ever  was  in  a  house  like  it. 
'  Holiness  unto  the  Lord '  is  stamped  upon  it.  I  am 
going  to  Carlsbad  in  Austria  on  Tuesday  (d.  v.). 
The  doctors  have  ordered  a  trial  of  its  baths,  and 
God  has  sent  plenty  of  money  to  take  me.  It  is  a 
strange,  wandering  life,  in  quest  of  health.  Yet  all 
is  well.  I  have  been  rather  worse  lately.  The  dis- 
ease has  been  very  active.  All  is  in  the  Lord's  hands. 
I  feel  leaving  all  at  home.  I  shall  be  away  about 
five  weeks.  Pray  for  me  that  I  may  be  useful,  and 
if  the  Lord  sees  fit,  get  health  for  his  work.  I  do 
desire  greatly  to  see  you.  I  long  for  it.  Had  I  not 
been  going  to  the  Continent  I  would  have  come  at 
once.  AU^  all,  ALL  is  love.  God  can  do  nothing 
amiss.  All  but  Mary  Jane  are  well  at  Perth.  We 
are  kindly  treated.  We  have  all  things  richly  to 
enjoy.  You  would  wonder  what  the  Lord  does  for 
us.  If  I  come  back  by  London  I  may  get  to  see 
you.  Will  you  not  be  with  us  this  summer?  What 
a  welcome  you  will  get!  I  must  close,  as  I  have  a 
good  deal  to  do.  There  are  many  changes,  but  Je- 
sus lives  and  Jesus  reigns.  We  shall  soon  be  home. 
It  is  a  sweet  prospect — Home ! 

"  A  dear  saint  of  God  when  dying  asked  them  to 
put  his  simple  name  on  his  tombstone,  and  ''Ize^V 
under  it.     We  may  do  the  same. 

'Duncan  Matheson. 
Born, .     Died, . 


In  Bohemia.  359 

J McP . 


Born, .     Died, . 

"In  Jesus,  yours,         "Duncan  Matheson." 

In  Carlsbad  he  found  means  of  distributing  some 
600  copies  of  the  Word  of  God.  Unable  to  speak 
the  language,  he  would  turn  up  his  favorite  text, 
"God  so  loved  the  world,"  etc.,  and  by  gestures  and 
the  use  of  such  terms  as  he  could  command  he  man- 
aged to  introduce  himself  and  the  Gospel  to  a  good 
many  of  the  people.  By  and  by  they  began  to  know 
him,  and  hail  him  as  a  friend.  Here  he  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  German  Christian,  who  had  charge 
of  the  Bible  Depot.  An  attempt  being  made  by  the 
burgomaster,  instigated  by  the  priest,  to  stop  the 
Bible  selling  and  distribution,  and  the  agent  being 
ordered  to  leave  the  house,  with  the  view  to  his  be- 
ing thrust  out  of  the  place  altogether,  our  evange- 
list took  up  the  case,  wrote  to  a  friend  in  London, 
through  whose  instrumentality  the  priest's  design 
was  foiled,  and  the  Bible  distribution  went  on  as 
before.  Still  panting  to  be  useful,  Mr.  Matheson 
undertook  to  give  instruction  to  the  two  Jewish 
girls  who  attended  him  in  his  lodgings.  His  own 
clildren  were  never  forgotten.  In  all  his  labors  and 
wanderings  he  found  time  to  write  little  letters  to 
them.  Out  of  a  heap  let  us  take  one  very  much  of 
a  piece  with  the  rest : 


360  Letter  to  His  DaiigJiter  Lizzie. 

TO    HIS    LITTLE    DAUGHTER   LIZZIE. 

"  Carlsbad,  4tli  May,  1868. 

"  My  own  Deak  Lizzie  :  I  often  tliink  of  you,  for  I 
love  you  very  much.  I  often  pray  for  you,  for  I 
long  to  see  you  safe  in  Jesus'  fold.  Many  a  time 
when  wandering  alone  in  the  woods  here,  I  wonder 
what  you  are  doing,  and  what  kind  of  a  scholar  you 
are  getting.  You  must  get  on  very  fast  at  school, 
as  likely  you  will  one  day  have  to  earn  your  bread 
through  the  education  you  have  got.  I  expect  great 
progress  before  I  return.  This  is  a  very  beautiful 
country.  The  town  of  Carlsbad  is  very  pleasant, 
built  on  both  sides  of  a  little  river  about  the  size  of 
Bogie  at  Huntly.  The  boys  and  girls  are  very  much 
like  what  they  are  in  Perth.  I  see  some  with  knick- 
erbockers like  Duncan's.  They  have  balls,  and  mar- 
bles, and  hoops,  as  the  children  have  in  Scotland. 
But  alas !  dear  Lizzie,  they  hear  not  about  Jesus  as 
you  do.  I  give  some  of  them  copies  of  the  Gospel  of 
John,  and  if  you  saw  how  pleased  they  are !  Some 
of  them  begin  to  know  me  now,  and  as  I  pass  smile 
and  take  my  hand.  I  love  all  children ;  Jesus  did 
so  very  much.  I  gave  a  man  a  copy  of  the  Gospel, 
and,  poor  fellow,  he  was  so  grateful,  he  asked  me  to 
come  at  night  and  get  wine  and  coffee  from  him. 

"There  are  a  good  few  Jewish  boys  and  girls  here. 
I  feel  deeply  for  them.  They  hate  the  very  name 
of  Jesus.  Oh,  my  own  Lizzie,  if  you  were  really  con- 
verted you  would  pray  for  them.  We  should  love 
the  Jews.     We  got  the  Bible  through  the  Jews,  and 


''Rest  is  a  Szveet   Word''  361 

Jesus  was  born  a  Jew.  Once  He  was  a  little  boy, 
running  about  the  streets  of  Nazareth. 

"  Would  it  not  be  grand  if  God  would  send  me 
back  to  Perth  to  you  all  healed?  Would  I  not, 
as  Duncan  says,  pack  up  my  things,  and  be  off  to 
preach  ?  The  waters  are  very  nice,  boiling  up  from 
the  earth.  One  is  very  great.  I  am  up  every  morn- 
ing long  before  you  now.  You  must  write  me  a 
long  letter  some  day.  I  will  try  to  send  a  letter  to 
Duncan,  and  Mary,  and  George  soon.  Will  you, 
dear  Lizzie,  take  Jesus  to  be  your  Saviour?  Oh, 
do !  It  would  give  mother  and  me  more  joy  than 
any  thing  in  the  world  would. 

"Your  own  dear  father, 

"Duncan  Matheson." 

TO  MISS  G. 

"  Carlsbad,  Bohemia,  11th  May,  1868. 
"  My  dear  Miss  G :  How  are  you  all,  and  es- 
pecially your  dear  mother?     I  do  hope  you  are  all 
well.     The  larks  will  be  singing  sweetly  now  in 

S ,  and  I  hope  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds 

(spiritual)  has  also  come.  Thank  God  for  droppings 
on  the  parched  ground.  Thank  God  for  saved  ones. 
The  little  one  shall  soon,  I  trust,  become  a  thousand, 
and  many  a  sweet  flower  be  planted  among  your 
hills  that  shall  bloom  and  blossom  up  yonder  where 
the  weary  rest.  Rest  is  a  sweet  word.  Even  a  child 
knows  its  meaning.  My  third  child  Mary  is  very 
delicate.     One  day  she  came  in  tu^ed,  and  in  her 


362  Sunday  in  Carlsbad. 

artless  way  said,  'Mother,  will  tliere  be  chairs  in 
heaven  to  sit  down  on?'  Oh,  yes,  there  will  be 
thrones,  and  crowns,  and  palms.  How  we  shall 
make  the  courts  re-echo  with  the  sweet  name  of 
Jesus  I  How  we  shall  shout  Hallelujah!  Hallelu- 
jah! You  see,  I  am  far  from  home  in  a  land  of 
strangers,  I  know  no  one.  All  the  time  I  have 
been  here,  I  have  been  the  only  Englishman.  I 
have  met  only  one  Christian,  a  German  Protestant. 
It  is  a  dark,  dark  land.  No  Sabbath  here.  It  is  the 
chief  market  day.  The  theatre  is  open,  and  almost 
every  shop.     The  priests  have  it  all  their  own  way. 

I  wish  Mr.  M and  others  were  here  one  day. 

After  that  they  would  cease  tearing  the  lambs,  and 
speaking  against  revival.  What  a  terrible  doom 
theirs  will  be  that  go  to  hell  from  Scotland !     Tell 

W to  flee  for  his  very  life.     Were  he  here  he 

would  have  no  one  to  tell  him.     I  love  W ,  and 

my  heart  wanders  at  times  from  this  earthly  para- 
dise to  the  bleak  strath.     I  long  to  hear  glorious 

tidings  from  it.     I  hope  M ,   '  Greatheart,'  has 

visited  you  again.  God  bless  him,  and  give  him 
mighty  strength.  I  was  very  poorly  when  I  left 
Scotland.  I  am  drinking  the  mineral  waters,  and 
taking  the  baths.  Thank  God,  I  am  feeling  a  good 
deal  better,  but  as  to  whether  it  may  touch  the  root 
of  the  disease  remains  to  be  seen.  Pray  for  me. 
Tell  your  dear  mother  to  ask  healing  for  the  work's 
sake,  if  the  Lord  sees  fit.  I  hope  to  leave  this  in 
three  weeks,  and  may  come  home  by  Switzerland. 


Distribution  of  Six  Hundred  Bibles.      363 

I  enclose  this  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Matheson,  London. 
He  will  post  it  for  you. 

"I  feel  it  sweet  to  lean  on  Jesus  here.  I  can 
speak  to  Him  though  I  can  to  no  one  else.  He 
heareth  j^rayer.  My  church  is  the  woods  alone  on 
the  Sabbath  day.  I  have  no  one  to  go  to.  The 
Lord  bless  you  all.  I  would  like  to  see  you  once 
more.  What  if  my  sun  is  to  set  at  noon?  Yet 
I  long  to  preach  Jesus.  He  must  reign.  He  shall 
reign.  We  shall  soon  see  Him  as  He  is.  We  shall 
be  like  Him. 

"  Ever  yours  in  Him, 

"Duncan  Matheson." 

The  following  letter  appeared  in  Tim  Bevival: 

"My  dear  Brother:  I  am  about  to  leave  this  land, 
and  I  am  sorry  to  do  so.  Circumstances,  however, 
compel  me ;  and  if  my  work  is  done  in  it,  I  would 
joyfully  say,  '  Thy  will  be  done.' 

"  Since  my  last,  a  great  door  has  been  opened 
for  the  dissemination  of  the  Word  of  life.  I  have 
bought  at  full  price  from  the  Bible  Society  nearly 
600  copies,  and  scattered  them  abroad.  My  main 
efforts  have  been  directed  to  the  peasantry,  as  the 
most  hopeful  and  most  needy  field.  The  poverty 
of  many  of  them  is  such  that  they  cannot  purchase 
a  Bible,  and  they  need  it  to  be  brought  to  their  very 
homes. 

"  Many  a  weary  mile  I  have  walked,  and  many 
a  scorching  sun  has  shone  upon  me.    Day  after  day 


364  ''No  Light r 

I  have  waited  on  the  highway,  some  distance  from 
the  town,  and,  accosting  the  travellers  passing 
along,  have  made  all  who  could  read  John  iii.  16. 
I  felt  God  could  make  one  text  as  effectual  as 
a  thousand;  and  especially  that  one  on  which  so 
many  have  rested  their  all  for  eternity.  It  has 
undoubtedly  been  the  most  interesting  work  in 
which  I  was  ever  engaged.  Many  had  never  seen 
the  Book;  and  many  even  did  not  know  its  name. 
This  is  true  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  if  not  millions, 
in  the  Austrian  empire. 

"  One  day,  shortly  after  my  arrival,  I  gave  a  copy 
of  John's  Gospel  to  an  old  man.  He  took  it  to  his 
home.  In  a  few  days  he  came  to  the  depot  and 
bought  a  Bible.  Time  after  time  he  has  come  for 
copies  for  his  neighbors,  and  now  he  has  become  a 
self-appointed  colporteur.  Last  week  the  police  in- 
terfered with  him,  but  he  has  since  got  a  regular 
license  from  a  magistrate,  and  from  love  to  the 
truth  pursues  his  calling. 

"  I  have  had  a  fine  opening  amongst  the  soldiers 
here  in  hospital,  some  of  whom  had  been  in  Mexico 
with  the  unhappy  Maximilian.  One  poor  fellow, 
who  has  lost  his  eyesight,  asked  his  comrades  what 
I  was  doing.  On  telling  him,  he  said,  with  a  voice 
choked  with  emotion  as  he  pointed  to  his  sightless 
eyeballs,  '  No  light,  no  light.' 

"  One  day  I  came  upon  an  old  man  sitting  by  the 
wayside  reading  a  copy  I  had  given.  He  smiled 
on  seeing  me;  and,  pointing  to  heaven,  and  then 


The  Bible  in  Austria.  365 

to  John  xiv.  2,  repeated  with  much  emphasis,  '  In 
my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions,'  and  added, 
'Yes,  and  one  for  me.' 

"It  is  work  needing  the  greatest  caution;  for 
there  is  the  greatest  danger  of  over-driving  and 
attracting  notice.  One  false  step  might  injure  for 
long  to  come,  as,  though  there  is  a  measure  of  lib- 
erty, yet  the  priestly  power  is  very  great.  The 
work  will  go  rolling  along,  but  not  so  fast  as  we 
may  anticipate,  or  would  from  our  hearts  desire. 

"  To  get  one  Bible  into  Austria  almost  baffled  me 
when  in  the  East;  and  now  the  Bible  Society  have 
an  unlimited  field,  a  field  the  extent  of  which  no 
one  can  conceive.  Fourteen  years  ago,  50,000  copies 
of  the  Word  were  sent  across  the  Austrian  fi'ontier 
guarded  by  dragoons.  Now  they  have  returned, 
and  a  thousand  times  more  will  follow.  A  bill  has 
lately  passed  the  Hungarian  Assembly  giving  fi-ee 
toleration ;  and  now  the  colporteur  may  go  from  one 
end  to  another  unmolested.  Colportage  is  the  spe- 
cial agency  needed.  Men  of  God  must  be  found. 
The  Word  must  be  carried  to  the  cottages  of  the 
poor,  and  the  palaces  of  the  rich.  Men  and  money ! 
men  and  money !  The  Lord  send  that  with  his  bless- 
ing; for  the  fields  are  ripening,  and  'the  breaker- 
up'  (Micah  ii.  13)  is  going  before.  Half-hearted 
effbi-ts  will  not  do.  The  opening  has  been  made, 
the  prayer  of  years  has  been  answei'ed,  and  the 
responsibility  is  not  realized.  Something  more  is 
needed  than  thundering  applause  at  great  meet- 


366         The  Bohemian  Protestant  Chnrck. 

ings,  when  some  well-turned  sentence  is  uttered. 
Something  more  is  needed  than  singing — 

(( <  WTere  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine, 
That  were  a  present  far  too  small; 
Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 

Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all.' 

"  God  does  not  want  what  we  have  not  to  give. 
The  whole  realm  of  nature  belongs  to  Him.  He 
has,  however,  given  money  to  some,  and  He  expects 
that  his  cause  shall  be  supported,  and  that  with  lib- 
eral hand. 

"I  have  gleaned  much  information  about  the 
Bohemian  Protestant  Church,  and  have  met  with 
some  of  its  pastors.  Looking  abroad  on  Bohemia, 
you  are  reminded  of  Ezekiel's  visions.  The  valley 
is  full  of  bones,  and  they  are  very  dry.  Can  these 
dry  bones  live?  Yea,  Lord,  we  believe  they  can. 
Only  breathe,  and  it  is  done !  Only  command,  and 
it  shall  stand  fast !  IMany  of  the  Protestants  live  too 
much  on  the  past.  It  is  well  to  speak  of  the  suffer- 
ings, trials,  and  triumphs  of  those  who  have  gone 
before.  It  is  well  to  unroll  the  scroll  of  martyred 
lives,  and  speak  with  hallowed  breath  of  the  names 
so  gloriously  written  there.  But  nothing  will  do  in 
the  place  of  a  crucified,  living,  coming  Jesus,  and 
the  forth-putting  of  the  Spirit's  power. 

"Bohemia  fills  a  noble  niche  in  history's  page; 
but  as  one  reads  it,  how  sad  the  thought,  that  what 
faggot  and  exile  could  not  do  a  Christless  form  ac- 


Appeal  for  Help.  367 

complished !  Eevival  is  a  thing  unknown,  and  few- 
think  of  the  hving  power.  If  they  can  hold  their 
own,  they  are  satisfied.  Efforts  for  the  conversion 
of  others  are  almost  unknown.  They  have  been 
sadly  isolated,  and  now  when  they  breathe  the  air 
of  freedom,  and  the  opening  is  made,  no  one  is 
ready  to  enter  on  it.  One  said  to  me  yesterday, 
'We  need  evangelists.  If  God  were  to  raise  up  a 
Spurgeon  amongst  us,  the  fuel  is  ready  for  the 
kindling.'  Only  let  the  cry  be  heard,  'Bohemia 
for  Christ ! '  and  many  would  rally  round  the  stand- 
ard. On  its  plains  the  battles  of  1866  were  fought, 
which  have  made  a  way  for  the  truth  never  known 
before. 

"I  am  deeply  anxious  to  get  'The  Blood  of  Jesus.* 
by  Mr.  Reid,  and  a  selection  of  M'Cheyne's  sermons, 
such  as  I  got  into  Gaelic,  translated  into  the  Bo- 
hemian language,  spoken  by  three  millions.  I  have 
so  far  made  arrangements  for  the  translation,  and 
also  to  have  articles  taken  from  the  Herald  of  Mercy 
monthly,  and  inserted  in  periodicals  published  in 
Prague.  Will  your  readers  help  ^vith  money  ?  It 
would  be  but  little  for  some  of  them  to  do  it  alto- 
gether. It  would  be  a  great  privilege.  I  ask  it  in 
the  name  of  Him  whose  they  are,  and  whom  they 
serve.  It  may  be  of  infinite  consequence  having  it 
done  soon.  Time  is  passing  quickly,  and  masses 
are  on  the  march  to  an  eternal  hell. 

"A  gentleman  from  London  has  been  laboring 
quietly,  and  putting  the  Gospel  before  many  here. 


368  Leaves  Bohemia. 

He  has  great  advantages,  speaking  tlie  German  as 
well  as  English. 

"Farewell,  Bohemia!  The  dark  shadows  which 
so  long  have  hung  over  thee  may  soon  be  chased 
away.  A  bright  morning  may  soon  dawn  upon 
thee.  Resurrection-life  may  be  felt  in  thy  scattered 
hamlets,  along  thy  mountain  sides,  and  in  thy 
crowded  cities.  I  bid  thee  farewell !  and  as  I  do, 
I  breathe  out  the  prayer  that  God  may  soon  say, 
'Arise,  shine;  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee ! ' 

"  Ever  yours  in  Jesus,         Duncan  Matheson. 

"Carlsbad,  Bohemia,  June  2,  1868." 

After  making  arrangements  with  a  Bohemian 
pastor  for  the  translation  of  Bonar's  "Memoir  of 
M'Cheyne,"  Eeid's  "Blood  of  Jesus,"  and  his  own 
"Herald  of  Mercy,"  into  German,  he  took  his  de- 
parture from  Carlsbad.  Passing  through  Switzer- 
land, he  spent  a  few  days  at  Mannedorf,  the  scene 
of  Dorothea  Triidel's  healing  labors,  where  he  was 
received  with  the  greatest  kindness  by  Pastor  Zeller. 
"All  here,"  he  writes,  "is  love."  Ever  bent  on  win- 
ning souls,  he  sought  the  means  of  reaching  at  least 
one  poor  heart.  A  lady,  who  had  lived  a  gay  life, 
was  deeply  impressed  by  his  faithful  words  as  he 
spoke  to  her  of  Christ.  Hastening  home,  he  reached 
Perth  in  a  state  of  utter  exhaustion;  and  it  was 
only  too  evident  to  all  his  friends  that  the  earthly 
tabernacle  was  passing  rapidly  to  decay. 


At  the  Perth  Conference.  369 

At  the  Perth  Conference,  in  September,  1868,  he 
dehvered  the  following  addi-ess  on  co-operation  in 
the  work  of  the  Lord : 

"We  live  in  stirring  times.  The  old  order  of 
things  in  Church  and  State  is  rapidly  breaking  up, 
or  if  not  breaking  up,  great  changes  are  taking 
place  in  both. 

"A  few  years  ago  there  was  no  need  of  introduc- 
ing such  a  subject  as  this,  for  evangelists  did  not 
occupy  the  places  they  now  do,  and  the  work  which 
the  great  God  has  on  the  wheels  had  not  then  ap- 
peared. Whatever  may  be  thought,  this  subject  is 
a  momentous  one,  and  demands  instant  attention. 
It  is  pregnant  with  infinite  results,  and  affects  the 
destiny  of  many  a  soul. 

"  God  has  raised  up  not  a  few  evangelists  who  go 
hither  and  thither.  I  call  the  majority  of  them  ir- 
regulars, free  lances,  knowing  no  church,  under- 
standing nothing  of  parochial  divisions,  subject  to 
no  master  but  Christ,  and,  it  cannot  be  denied, 
wielding  a  mighty  influence  on  not  a  few. 

"There  is  much  in  their  freedom  of  action  fitted 
to  help  on  the  work,  and  also  snares  which  only 
grace  can  deliver  from.  It  is  likely  their  numbers 
will  be  greatly  increased ;  and  if  the  Lord  shall  use 
them  as  sharp  sickles  for  gathering  in  souls,  surely 
every  Christian  will,  from  the  inmost  soul,  bid  them 
God-speed. 

"With  such  of  them  as  have  a  single  eye  in  seek- 
ing the  salvation  of  the  lost  (and  I  think  life  is  nobly 


370  Words  to  Evangelists, 

spent  if  spent  for  this),  living  ministers  can  have  no 
dijfficulty  in  working.  Co-operation  with  the  dead 
on  either  side  is  out  of  the  question;  co-operation 
with  the  living  is  to  be  sought  after  by  every  possi- 
ble means. 

"  Usually  evangelists  go  to  places  to  which  they 
have  been  invited  by  one  or  more  living  souls. 
Their  work  is  to  'preach  the  gospel.'  With  all  my 
heart  I  protest  against  what  I  have  known — men 
received  with  all  warmth  of  simplicity,  and  quietly 
leadiQg  unsuspectiQg  ones  away  to  their  pecuhar 
views,  leaving  afterwards  a  leaven  of  division  inju- 
rious in  its  results.  Let  men  be  honest.  They  have 
a  fair  field,  and  the  sacred  rights  of  conscience  no 
man  has  a  right  to  invade.  I  have  preached  in 
many  lands,  and  in  this  dear  land  of  ours  I  have 
proclaimed  salvation  in  its  crowded  cities,  lowly 
hamlets,  by  the  side  of  its  wimpling  burnies,  and 
on  its  mountain  sides,  and  no  one  dare  charge  me 
with  making  one  proselyte  to  my  views,  or  spend- 
ing my  time  on  aught  else  but  the  one  theme. 

"  I  stand  to-day  and  with  my  eye  fixed  on  the 
lost^  I  plead  with  evangelists  to  keep  at  the  one 
thing.  With  the  vision  cleared  by  heaven's  lamp, 
they  will  see  the  crowd  rushing  on  to  destruction, 
sporting  with  death,  indifi'erent  to  Calvary,  laugh- 
ing on  the  way  to  hell.  When  there  are  no  souls 
to  save,  turn  to  teaching.  William  Bums,  that  man 
of  God  now  in  glory,  was  once  asked  by  a  lady  many 
things  as  to  how  he  felt  when  preaching  to  the  mil- 


'■^Bear  and  Forbear P  371 

lions  of  China.  After  a  pause,  and  fixing  his  eye 
on  her — an  eye  that  was  always  full  of  pity — he 
said,  '  I  never  think  but  of  one  thing — the  lost  and 
a  Christ  for  them ! ' 

"I  have  been  told  that  it  is  a  sacrifice  preaching 
always  to  the  unsaved.  I  grant  it.  We  lose  much 
joy  in  always  dwelling  about  the  temple  door,  and 
not  rising  to  proclaim  higher  truths,  in  which  our 
souls  would  luxuriate.  But  if  we  speak  of  sacrifices, 
let  us  think  of  the  tears  wept  over  Jerusalem,  of  the 
sore  agony  in  dark  Gethsemane,  of  the  dying  love 
on  the  cross,  and  then  say  if  life  itself  is  not  worth 
the  giving,  if  we  may  but  win  one  jewel  for  Im- 
manuel's  crown. 

"Bless  God  for  Scottish  caution;  but  it  is  often  at 
fault.  When  an  evangelist  comes  to  a  place,  there 
ought  at  first  to  be  a  'trying  of  the  spirits.'  Stand- 
ing on  etiquette  must  be  laid  aside.  Evangelists, 
if  full  of  power,  need  not  to  be  patronized.  Earnest 
ministers  are  not  to  be  ignored.  They  meet  on  a 
common  platform.     They  serve  the  one  Christ. 

"Stereotyped  modes  of  action,  if  need  be,  must 
be  laid  aside,  and  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit  must 
be  recognized. 

"In  my  younger  days  there  was  a  very  current 
advice  common  amongst  the  people  —  ^Bear  and 
forbear'  There  will  ever  be  need  of  doing  both. 
Essentials  must  be  held  by  both  as  with  a  death- 
grip;  but  non-essentials  may  be  scattered  to  the 
winds.     In  one  sense  neither  must  act  the  gentle- 


372  Watching  the   Tide. 

man.  Both  should  toil  and  sweat  as  laborers.  The 
fnrrows  turned  up  by  both  should  be  so  joined  that 
when  the  seed  S23rings  the  furrows  may  be  hid  un- 
der the  golden  grain  ripening  for  the  harvest-home 
of  heaven. 

"  I  only  returned  a  few  days  ago  from  the  sea-side. 
In  my  weakness  I  used  to  sit  and  mark  the  ebbing 
and  flowing  tide.  When  it  was  out  every  inequal- 
ity in  the  shore  could  be  seen,  hidden  rocks  were 
laid  bare,  and  the  tangle-covered  bottom  exposed. 
When  in,  all  was  covered.  There  was  nothing  to 
be  seen  but  the  blue  sea — the  one  great  ocean.  So, 
when  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  put  forth  his  almighty 
power,  a  subject  such  as  this  will  not  be  raised.  The 
waves  of  salvation  rolling  along  shall  put  all  out  of 
sight,  as  ministers  and  evangelists — like  men  rescu- 
ing the  drowning  from  a  wreck,  almost  sweating 
blood  as  they  do  it ;  or  saving  the  inmates  of  some 
burning  home — run  with  hell  pursuing  and  heaven 
beckoning  onward,  holding  up  the  cross,  and  in 
thrilling  tones  cry  aloud — 

*'  'There  is  life  for  a  look  at  the  crucified  One, 
There  is  life  at  this  moment  for  thee  ; 
Then  look,  sinner,  look  unto  Him  and  be  saved, 
Unto  Him  that  was  nailed  to  the  tree. ' 

"There  is  nothing  comparable  to  the  loss  of  a  soul. 
God,  heaven,  hell,  salvation,  are  awfully  solemn  real- 
ities. The  shadows  of  eternity  are  falling  on  the 
path  of  some  of  us.  They  are  not  dark,  but  light- 
ened by  the  glory  that  shines  from  the  better  land. 


The  Riding  Passion,  373 

I  know  not  how  it  may  soon  be  with  me.  A  Fa- 
ther can  heal  if  He  pleases.  I  leave  it  in  His  hand. 
It  is  sweet  to  know  that  we  toil  only  for  a  little. 
That  sowing  in  tears,  we  shall  reap  in  joy.  Let  us 
seek  the  welding  heat  of  heaven.  We  can  only  do 
valiantly  as  we  receive  power  from  on  high.  That 
power  will  not  be  withheld,  and  blessing  will  come. 
With  all  the  earnestness  of  a  dying  man,  and  with 
my  eye  fixed  on  the  judgment-seat,  I  would  affec- 
tionately urge  all  who  love  the  Lord  to  pray,  labor, 
and  live  for  the  lost.  Lift  up  Jesus  and  'Jesus 
ONLY,'  for — 

"  '  His  name  forever  shall  endure: 
Last  like  the  sun  it  shall ; 
Men  shall  be  blest  in  Him,  and  Bless' d 
All  nations  shall  Him  call. 

"  'And  blessed  be  His  glorious  name, 
To  all  eternity; 
The  whole  earth  let  His  glory  fill: 
Amen:  so  let  it  be.'  " 

For  the  rest  of  his  time  he  was  seldom  able  to 
preach.  But  the  ruling  passion  was  strong  in  him 
to  the  last.  Although  not  a  murmur  escaped  his 
lips,  he  longed  for  the  old  freedom  and  joy  in  pro- 
claiming the  glad  tidings  of  salvation,  and  some- 
times seemed  like  the  imprisoned  lion  thrusting  him- 
self with  a  noble  violence  against  the  bars  of  his 
cage.  One  day  on  hearing  that  three  persons  had 
been  converted  through  the  instrumentality  of  his 
*' Herald  of  Mercy"  he  said,  "I  thank  God  for  this; 


374  ^^^^  Intense  Earnestness. 

but  after  all  there  is  nothing  like  the  living  voice 
for  carrying  the  truth  to  men's  souls."  Now  and 
then  he  indulged  in  the  luxury  of  preaching,  and 
never  at  this  period  without  marked  results.  There 
was  now  a  marvellous  intensity  and  tenderness  in 
his  words.  He  really  poured  out  his  soul  in  his  ad- 
dresses. It  appeared  to  need  more  than  human  ob- 
duracy of  heart  to  listen  to  him  without  being 
melted  and  drawn.  In  several  places  sinners  were 
converted  at  the  little  meetings. 

Now,  however,  that  the  living  voice  was  all  but 
hushed  did  he  labor  to  publish  salvation  through  the 
press.  And  the  grace  and  kindness  of  his  Divine 
Master  were  strikingly  displayed  in  the  remarkable 
blessing  that  now  rested  on  his  publications.  Every 
week,  and  sometimes  indeed  every  day,  brought 
him  tidings  of  sinners  converted  by  means  of  his 
periodical  or  special  issues.  The  blessed  results  of 
the  labor  of  former  years  were  also  constantly  and 
providentially  coming  to  light,  and  he  was  both 
cheered  and  humbled.  "Oh,  how  good  a  God  He 
is! "  was  his  frequent  exclamation.  "Oh!  if  I  were 
better,"  he  often  said,  "I  would  preach  Christ  more 
than  ever.  I  would  warn  men  more  than  ever.  I 
would  speak  of  eternity  more  than  ever." 

As  he  was  about  to  start  for  the  south  of  Eng- 
land in  quest  of  health,  the  dying  evangelist  took  up 
the  railway  map  to  examine  the  route,  but  forget- 
ting his  immediate  purpose  he  began  to  ponder  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  region,  and  looking  up 


The  Ministry  of  Suffering,  375 

said,  "These  three  counties  are  c?eac? — utterly  dead T^ 
Compelled  by  the  inroads  of  the  fatal  disease  to 
avoid  the  excitement  of  conversation,  he  invented 
various  devices  to  supply  the  place  of  personal  deal- 
ing with  fellow-travellers,  or  other  strangers  whom 
he  happened  to  meet.  Knowing  the  reluctance  of 
many  to  read  religious  tracts  or  books,  he  printed 
in  large  type  on  little  neat  cards  pointed  and  sol- 
emn truths,  with  which  he  sought  to  awaken  the 
world's  heavy  sleepers.    For  example  the  following: 

"There  is 

A  God 

Who  sees  thee ! 

A  Moment 

Which  flies  from  thee! 

An  Eternity 

Which  awaits  thee ! 

A  God  whom  you  serve  so  ill ! 

A  Moment  of  which  you  so  Httle  profit! 

An  Eternity  you  hazard  so  rashly  I 

Eeader, 

Where  will  you  spend  Eternity? 

In  Heaven  or  Hell? 

Which?" 

His  was  now  a  new  and  even  more  Christ-like 
ministry.  The  ministry  of  activity,  of  valor,  of  ex- 
hausting toil,  and  of  heroic  perseverance  had  been 
fully  accomplished.     It  was  now  the  ministry  of  suf- 


376  Instant  in  Prayer. 

fering :  and  holy  suffering  is  most  like  the  ministry 
of  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  the  ministry  of  the  crushed 
sandal-tree  which  yields  its  perfume  to  the  wood- 
man's axe.  The  ministry  of  the  alabaster  box  which 
must  needs  be  broken  that  the  aroma  of  the  oint- 
ment may  fill  the  house.  We  saw  the  breaking  of 
the  box,  and  the  richness  of  the  fragrance  tempted 
us  to  ask,  Why  this  waste — why  this  premature 
break-up  of  that  goodly  form  ?  We  might  as  well 
ask  why  the  angel  of  the  covenant  maimed  Jacob 
just  as  he  obtained  victory  and  blessing.  God's 
Israels  have  strange  experiences;  out  of  weakness 
they  are  often  made  strong.  It  was  at  this  period 
he  attained  his  greatest  power  in  prayer.  He  now 
ascended  to  a  summit  of  faith  that  few  Christians 
ever  reach.  "I  have  been  all  night,"  said  he  to  a 
Christian  friend,  "between  Gethsemane  and  Cal- 
vary, between  the  manger  and  the  cross."  Many  a 
night  was  now  spent  on  the  mount  of  intercession. 
It  was  not  merely  the  prayer  of  faith :  it  was  also 
the  prayer  of  love.  As  the  glory  of  love  is  its  dis- 
interestedness, so  one  of  the  noblest  qualities  of  true 
prayer  is  disinterested  love.  He  seemed  to  lay  his 
will  alongside  of  the  will  of  God,  and  the  answer 
admitted  not  of  doubt.  Often  did  he  rise  from  his 
knees  in  a  flood  of  tears,  but  they  were  tears  of  joy. 
And  we  have  seen  a  whole  assembly  moved  till 
every  eye  was  wet,  whilst  with  child-like  simplicity 
and  holy  tenderness  he  entreated  his  God — "  Lord, 
take  us  to-day  to  Calvary,  and  show  us  afi'esh  thy 


TJie   Tabernacle  in  Ridns.  377 

pierced  hands  and  feet,  thy  thorn-crowned  brow. 
Give  us  at  the  cross  a  new  baptism  of  thy  Holy 
Spirit.  Send  us  to  tell  the  unsaved  that  we  have 
seen  the  Lord.  jMake  us  weep  over  them,  as  Thou 
didst  over  Jerusalem.  Show  us  the  moving  mass 
on  their  march  down  to  the  pit.  Show  us  the  city : 
let  us  walk  its  golden  streets.  We  are  in  it  by  faith 
to-day.  Show  us  its  jasper  walls,  and  above  all  Him 
that  is  its  light."  Thus  he  prayed:  and  it  is  added 
by  the  narrator,  "he  wept  as  he  rose  from  prayer." 
Often  as  he  plead  for  the  salvation  of  Scotland,  and 
of  the  whole  Avorld,  he  said,  like  one  of  our  an- 
cient worthies,  "  Take  long  strides,  Lord,  take  long 
strides." 

The  summer  of  1869  found  him  in  a  dying  state. 
Many  prayers  had  been  offered  for  his  recovery, 
but  he  grew  worse.  All  known  remedies  had  been 
employed ;  for  the  same  generous  friends  who  had 
aided  him  in  his  numerous  schemes  of  Christian 
usefulness,  lovingly  ministered  to  him  of  their  sub- 
stance during  his  long  illness.  But  all  means  were 
in  vain ;  the  disease  obedient  to  the  great  Master's 
will  went  on  in  its  stern  course,  till  at  length  every 
pin  was  unfastened,  and  the  tabernacle  lay  in  ruins. 
In  July  of  that  year  he  went  to  Bruar  in  the  High- 
lands, where  he  remained  till  within  a  fortnight  of 
his  death.  Although  in  a  condition  of  extreme 
prostration,  he  employed  much  of  his  time  in  pre- 
paring various  matters  for  the  press.  "  The  Herald 
of  Mercy''  was  got  ready  for  the  rest  of  the  year; 


3/8  The  ^^Good  Tidings^''  etc. 

and  after  lie  was  gone  it  was  touching  enough,  to 
see  his  httle  periodical  appear  month  after  month 
just  as  he  had  prepared  it;  it  was  hke  a  voice 
speaking  out  of  eternity.  He  also  prepared  a  little 
book  entitled  "Things  Worth  Knowing,"  and  papers 
called  "Good  Tidings"  and  "New  Year's  Gift,"  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  which  were  printed  and  put 
into  circulation.  One  of  these  papers,  it  may  be 
Btated  on  the  authority  of  a  faithful  servant  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  was  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of 
two  persons  some  three  months  after  the  hand  of 
this  unwearying  sower  of  the  truth  had  lost  its 
cunning  in  death. 

Another  instance  of  blessing  on  those  last  labors 
appeared  in  "  I^Ae  Christian''  of  Sept.  15th,  1870: 

"H.M.S.  Hihernia,  Malta. — ^Towards  the  end  of 
last  year  I  received  a  large  bundle  of  tracts,  books 
and  'New  Year's  Gifts,'  from  an  unknown  donor. 
They  were  addressed  to  Mr.  Hodges,  Koyal  Na- 
val Scripture-reader  (my  predecessor).  Soldiers'  and 
Sailors'  Institute,  Burmala,  Malta,  who  kindly  sent 
word  that  I  might  distribute  them  amongst  the 
men  for  whom  they  were  intended.  This  I  did  as 
follows:  Hymn-books,  Burmala  and  Valetta  Insti- 
tutes, books  amongst  the  soldiers  and  children; 
*New  Years  Gifts'  one  in  each  mess  of  every  ship 
on  the  station,  some  twenty-four  vessels;  and  the 
tracts  have  been  given  away  in  various  ships,  regi- 
ments, hospitals,  and  prisons.  Now  all  these  have 
not  only  greatly  strengthened  my  hands  during 


Last  Addresses.  379 

the  past  ten  months,  bnt  a  rich  manifest  blessing 
has  attended  their  widespread  circulation.  Tlie 
''New  Years  Gifts,'  and  '  Good  Tidiiigs'  caused  quite 
a  revival  of  true  religion  in  several  quarters.  One 
remarkable  case  I  will  mention.  To  the  reading 
of  a  'New  Year's  Gift,'  one  of  the  crew  of  the 
Bellerophon  owes  his  direct  conversion.  This  man 
is  a  genuine  disciple  of  the  Lord ;  so  that  if  he  was 
the  only  case  of  blessing,  the  person  who  kindly- 
sent  them  is  richly  rewarded.  'That  day'  will 
declare  all   the  good  done.     I  ought  to  mention 

that,  after  W received  the  blessing  himself,  he 

sent  the  little  messenger  home  to  his  aged  mother 
and  friends,  there  to  be  a  further  blessing,  we  trust. 
I  should  be  very  happy  to  receive  another  similar 
bundle  ere  this  year  closes,  and  we  will  look  for- 
ward with  increasing  joy  for  a  greater  blessing  on 
them,  and  to  that  happy  hour  when  sower  and 
reaper  shall  rejoice  together  in  our  home  above. 
Mr.  G.  Brown,  Sick  Bay,  Steward  H.M.S.  Crocodile, 
Portsmouth,  will  receive  any  parcels  for  me,  and 
see  them  safely  delivered. — Charles  Briber." 

On  Sabbath  evenings  Mr.  Matheson  addressed  a 
meeting  in  a  room  of  the  house  where  he  lodged. 
To  this  meeting  he  literally  crept,  so  weak  was  he ; 
and  from  the  last  one  he  was  all  but  carried  to  his 
own  room.  In  vain  did  friends  entreat  him  to  spare 
himself  He  knew  his  time  was  very  short ;  he  sev- 
eral times  told  his  wife  he  would  be  removed  about 
the  middle  of  September ;  and  he  begged  to  be  in- 


380  His  Return  to  Perth. 

dulged  in  the  luxury  of  preaching  Christ  once  more. 
These  services  were  deeply  impressive,  his  last  text 
being,  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?" 

As  he  lay  looking  out  on  the  hills  he  said,  "  Very, 
very  soon  these  eyes  shall  be  gazing  on  the  ever- 
lasting hills.  .  .  .  Soon  I  shall  be  beholding 
fairer  scenes  than  those.  ...  I  shall  soon  see 
the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  the  land  that  is  very 
far  off." 

On  September  3d  he  returned  to  Perth;  and  on 
reaching  his  house  he  called  his  whole  family  to- 
gether, that  together  they  might  offer  thanks  for 
the  great  goodness  of  the  Lord  to  him  and  them. 
He  then  calmly  set  his  house  in  order,  not  overlook- 
ing the  most  trivial  matter.  "Give  my  clothes  to 
the  poor,"  he  said  to  his  wife ;  it  was  almost  the  only 
legacy  he  had  to  leave.  To  his  friends  at  parting 
he  spake  words  of  joy  and  triumph.     To  Dr.   A. 

S he  said,   "Resurgam."     To  Mr.   M ,  an 

evangelist,  "You  are  going  to  speak  of  the  King, 
but  I  am  going  to  see  Him."  To  his  old  Crimean 
friend,  Mr.  Hector  Macpherson,  whose  emotion  at 
parting  Avas  too  strong  for  even  the  soldier's  firm- 
ness, he  said,  "Do  not  weep  for  me:  I  have  only  to 
die  once  that  I  may  live  forever."  To  another, 
who  found  him  making  arrangements  for  a  series  of 
evangelistic  services  to  be  held  at  Hillhead,  near 
Glasgow,  he  said,  "I  should  like  to  die  planning 
revival  services."  The  services  then  planned  by  him 
were  in  progress  at  the  time  of  his  death :  the  word 


'"Jesus  OnlyT  381 

was  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  a  consider- 
able number  of  persons  were  converted. 

To  another  friend  he  said,  "I  got  the  victory  long 
ago — when  the  Lord  first  forgave  my  sins.  .  .  . 
You  have  nothing  now  to  ask  for  me  but  tliat  I  may 
have  an  abundant  entrance." 

To  Mrs.  Sandeman,  Springland,  he  said,  "It's  all 
love — it's  all  well.     Beality  is  the  great  thing — I 

have  always  sought  reality I  have 

served  the  Lord  for  tAvo  and  twenty  years ;  I  have 
sought  to  win  souls — it  has  been  my  passion — and 
now  I  have  the  fruit  of  it.  One  of  my  spiritual  chil- 
dren went  the  other  day  as  a  missionary  to  China, 
and  many  others  of  them  are  preaching  the  Gospel. 
.  .  .  Well,  at  least  you  can  say  you  have  seen 
the  vanquished  the  conqueror." 

When  alone,  he  was  often  heard  saying  to  him- 
self with  a  quiet  jubilance  of  tone,  "Victory!"  and 
often  too,  in  soft,  rapt  whispers,  "Jesus  only!  " 

From  day  to  day  he  fed  on  the  good  word  of 
grace.  One  day  it  was,  "Ye  are  complete  in  Him." 
Another  day  it  was,  "  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for 
righteousness  to  every  one  that  belie veth."  Again 
it  was,  "Who  his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his  own 
body  on  the  tree,  that  we  being  dead  to  sins  should 
live  unto  righteousness :  by  whose  stripes  ye  were 
healed."  Near  his  end  he  triumphed  in  those  words, 
"  The  eternal  God  is  thy  refuge,  and  underneath  are 
the  everlasting  arms."  Shortly  before  his  departure 
he  was  fiercely  assailed  by  the  great  adversary. 


382  His  Hinnility. 

The  conflict  was  sharp  but  short,  and  victory  re- 
mained with  the  soldier  of  the  cross.  Grasping  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  he  was  enabled  to  contend  till 
at  length  the  enemy  left  the  field  and  returned  no 
more.  Curiously  enough,  the  Scripture  by  which 
he  was  enabled  through  grace  at  this  time  to  over- 
come was  the  memorable  passage  inscribed  on  his 
grand-uncle's  tombstone,  "  They  that  be  wise  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  for- 
ever and  ever ! "  More  than  twenty  years  before  he 
had  knelt  upon  the  grave  and  consecrated  himself 
to  the  service  of  Jesus,  transcribing  with  prayers 
and  tears  into  his  innermost  heart  the  words  of  the 
prophet.  They  had  been  the  helm  of  his  subsequent 
career,  the  guiding  star  of  his  extraordinary  minis- 
try. To  these  words  his  thoughts  naturally  reverted ; 
and  now  when  clouds  gathered  upon  the  sky,  his  star 
shone  calmly  down  upon  him,  and  he  was  guided 
through  the  storm.  To  use  his  own  saying,  lie  was 
now  getting  what  lie  had  gone  in  for.  There  are  many 
lights  in  the  firmament  of  the  Word ;  and  it  may 
seem  meet  to  God  in  his  wisdom  to  guide  through 
the  darkness  and  the  tempest  some  keen-eyed  mar- 
iner of  faith  by  a  star  too  remote  for  your  eyes  or 
mine  to  discern.  "I  have  not  been  wise,"  he  said 
with  unfeigned  humility  to  his  wife.  "Yet  God  has 
used  me  in  turning  many  to  righteousness,  and  1 
know,"  he  added,  with  an  eye  rekindled  as  the  dark- 
ness passed  away  before  the  light  of  coming  glory 


Awaiting  the  Summons.  383 

now  streaming  into  Ms  soul,  "I  know  He  is  true, 
and  I  shall  be  with  Him  forever." 

To  his  children  he  spoke  of  Jesus,  and  of  the 
chariot  coming  to  take  him  to  glory.  He  charged 
them  each  one  to  meet  him  in  heaven.  To  his  wife 
he  frequently  addressed  words  of  comfort:  "You 
will  have  your  trials,"  he  said,  "but  the  Lord  will 
bear  you  through  them,  and  the  trials  will  make  you 
shine  the  brighter."  He  assured  her  again  and  agam 
that  the  Lord  would  liberally  supply  all  her  and  their 
children's  needs.  "  Mary,"  said  he  to  her,  "  I  have 
another  text  to  give  you  to-day.  It  is  this:  'A 
Father  of  the  fatherless,  and  a  Judge  of  the  widows, 
is  God  in  his  holy  habitation ' "  (Ps.  Ixviii.  5.)  To  his 
sister  he  said,  "  Oh,  Jessie,  isn't  it  infinite  love  that 
I  should  not  be  suffering  ?  "  He  abounded  in  thanks- 
giving, and  often  asked  Mrs.  Matheson  to  assist  him 
in  singing  praise.  Psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual 
songs  were  the  latest  efforts  of  his  voice.  Two 
hymns,  "Awaiting  the  Summons,"  and  "Soon  to 
be  with  Jesus,"  he  frequently  repeated;  and  as  they 
seemed  most  fitly  to  express  his  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings during  his  last  hours,  one  of  them  may,  in  part 
at  least,  be  given  here : 

AWAITING    THE    SUMMONS. 

"  Away  from  the  wilderness-state 

My  spirit  would  thankfully  flee ; 
And  yet  in  the  patience  of  hope  I  would  wait. 
Till  Thou,  my  Lord,  callest  for  me. 


384  Filled  with  the  Spirit  of  Glory. 

*'  0  why  should  I  tremble  or  dread 

At  whatever  may  hai^pen  around, 
While  I  cling  unto  Thee,  the  life-giving  Head, 
In  whom  all  true  nourishment's  found? 

"  Thou  dost  not  allow  me  to  quail. 

Though  keen  the  blasts  oftentimes  blow; 
For  Thou  art  my  refuge,  that  never  can  fail, 
Though  all  things  are  failing  below. 

•'  With  a  conscience  at  peace  with  my  God, 
And  a  heart  from  anxiety  free, 
I  pray  that  the  rest  of  my  path  may  be  trod 
In  happy  communion  with  Thee." 

"  Mary,"  lie  said  to  his  wife,  "  this  room  is  filled 
with  the  heavenly  host.  Had  I  strength,  how  we 
would  sing!"  On  this  he  repeated  the  last  three 
verses  of  the  72d  Psalm  in  metre,  coming  back  with 
rapt  delight  on  the  last  four  lines — 

"  And  blessed  be  His  glorious  name 
To  all  eternity  ! 
The  whole  earth  let  His  glory  fill: 
Amen:  so  let  it  be  !" 

He  now  appeared  to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit  of 
glory  and  of  God;  and  as  if  already  triumphing 
amidst  the  heavenly  host,  his  voice  gave  out  with 
exultant  tones  the  words  of  Psalm  Ixviii.  17 — 

'*  God's  chariots  twenty  thousand  are. 
Thousands  of  angels  strong; 
In's  holy  place  God  is,  as  in 
Mount  Sinai  them  among." 

As  night  came  on — the  last  brief  period  of  dark- 
ness to  him  forever — he  said,  with  characteristic  joy- 
fulness  of  faith,  "Light  all  the  lights;  and  let  not 


''Preach  Christ!''  385 

this  be  a  charnel-house."  It  was  to  him  not  death 
but  Hfe;  not  sorrow,  disaster,  or  defeat,  but  joy, 
honor,  and  victory.  It  was  not  a  time  to  mourn, 
but  a  festive  season ;  and  he  would  go  to  the  mar- 
riage-supper of  the  Lamb  with  a  garland  of  praise 
in  his  hand  to  cast  at  the  feet  of  the  King.  It  was 
in  the  same  jubilance  of  faith  that  he  often  said, 
"  Be  not  sorrowful  at  my  burial.  Praise  God  as  ye 
carry  me  to  my  grave.  And  when  you  lay  me  down, 
sing — 

"  '  There  is  rest  for  the  weary.'  " 

Yet  amidst  all  this  triumph,  nothing  could  be  more 
striking  than  the  increasing  trustfulness  with  which 
he  clung  to  the  cross.  The  scriptures  he  chiefly 
dwelt  on  were  those  bearing  on  the  death  of  Jesus 
in  the  room  of  sinners.  To  an  evangelist  who  came 
to  bid  him  farewell,  he  said,  with  death-like  earnest- 
ness, "  Preach  Christ."  Not  long  before  he  had  said 
to  a  young  minister — one  of  his  own  converts — "If 
I  were  to  live  I  would  preach  substitution  more  than 
I  have  ever  done." 

His  peace  was  now  neither  coming  nor  going,  but 
flowing  on  like  a  river ;  and  he  frequently  repeated 
these  lines — 

• '  In  peace  let  me  resign  my  breath, 
And  thy  salvation  see; 
My  sins  deserve  eternal  death, 
But  Jesus  died  for  me." 

He  had  now  but  one  want — "  the  coming  of  the 
King."     "  How  is  it  the  King  tarries,"  he  said,  in  a 
25 


386  Bidding  His  Friends  Farewell. 

tone  of  intense  longing,  "  when  the  chariot- wheels 
are  so  very  near  ?  "  Then  he  seemed  to  hearken  for 
a  Httle  to  the  inaudible  voice  of  the  King,  and  after 
the  pause  said,  "  Ah,  but  He  has  a  purpose  in  this ! " 
It  was  said  to  him, 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 
Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are." 

"Yes,"  he  replied;  "and  He  is  doing  it  for  me." 

His  suffering  was  great,  but  at  the  worst  he  said, 

in  his  own  hopeful  way, 

* '  Beyond  tlie  sighing  and  the  weeping 
I  shall  be  soon." 

At  this  time,  a  few  hours  before  he  died,  he  said 
that  many  of  his  old  friends  were  passing  before  his 
mind.  His  ardently  affectionate  heart  was  summon- 
ing them  up  for  a  last  embrace.  Mentioning  the 
names  of  one  after  another,  he  said,  "  Give  them  my 
undying  love." 

Every  prayer  seemed  to  be  answered  and  every 
wish  gratified.  He  longed  to  see  his  sister,  and  she 
came  unexpectedly  from  Huntly.  He  desired  to  see 
his  former  pastor  and  fellow-laborer  in  the  Gospel, 
j\Ir.  Williamson,  and  providentially  his  well-tried 
friend  came  in  after  a  long  journey.  He  earnestly 
desired  once  more  to  see  the  writer  of  these  pages, 
and  it  was  my  privilege  to  be  with  him  during  the 
last  hour  of  his  life.  On  entering  his  room  I  was 
struck  with  his  appearance.  He  was  singularly 
elevated,  and  yet  profoundly  calm.  His  intellect 
possessed  all  the  vigor  of  his  best  days;  his  eye 


Resting  on  the  Sin-bearer.  387 

was  clear  and  softly  lustrous ;  his  voice  liad  recov- 
ered its  manliness  and  power,  and  his  lion-like  feat- 
ures seemed  to  repose  in  the  sense  of  victory.  I  saw 
at  a  glance  that  he  was  on  the  threshold  of  glory, 
for  the  very  light  of  heaven  was  on  his  face.  Yet 
all  was  so  natural  and  unaffected  that  I  could  not 
help  saying  to  myself,  "He  is  the  same  man,  the 
very  same  man,  Duncan  Matheson  and  no  other." 
Even  a  touch  of  the  old  humor  was  there.  Taking 
a  few  whiffs  of  a  cigar  to  relieve  his  mouth  of  the 
painful  sensations  caused  by  disease,  he  said,  refer- 
ring to  the  morbid  pietism  which  his  manly  spirit 
had  never  liked,  "If  some  people  saw  me  at  this, 
they  would  think  it  was  not  very  like  reading 
'  Thomas  a  Kempis.' " 

Particularly  and  tenderly  he  inquired  about  the 
welfare  of  all  his  friends.  As  of  old,  he  asked  espe- 
cially about  the  work  of  the  Lord,  praising  God 
when  he  was  told  of  prosperity,  and  saymg  sol- 
emnly in  reference  to  certain  who  temporized, 
"Never  mind  them.  'What  is  the  chaff  to  the 
wheat?'  saith  the  Lord."  Then  he  began  to  tell 
me  that  he  was  resting  on  the  Sin-bearer,  at  the 
same  time  quoting  the  Scriptures  that  were  yield- 
ing his  soul  peace  and  rest.  He  said,  "I  am  weary, 
and  I  am  waiting.  .  .  .  Heaven  will  literally 
be  a  rest  to  me."  He  seemed  like  a  man  returning 
from  the  harvest-field  with  the  last  golden  sheaf 
upon  his  shoulder.  Pacing  wearily  along  the  stub- 
ble in  the  clear,  crisp  air  of  an  autumnal  evening, 


388  The  Last  Scene. 

suddenly  the  countenance  of  the  worn-out  reaper 
brightens,  and  his  step  is  instinctively  quickened  as 
his  ear  catches  the  first  sound  of  the  merry-making 
and  the  harvest-home ;  and  all  his  weariness  is  for- 
gotten as  he  anticipates 

....  "  The  shout  of  them  that  triumph, 

The  song  of  them  that  feast." 

As  he  talked  of  Christ  and  glory,  he  said,  "  It  may 
be  a  few  days  yet  before  I  get  home,  or  only  a  few 
hours."  Perceiving  the  emotion  I  could  not  con- 
ceal, he  said,  with  the  tear  of  fond,  but  manly  affec- 
tion in  his  eye,  "  You  cannot  come  with  me.  You 
have  more  work  to  do,  and  you  must  wait  a  while. 

Ah !  dear  Macpherson,"  he  added, 

with  much  feeling,  as  he  called  to  mind  the  former 
days,  "you  and  I  are  like  two  war-ships" — the  old 
warrior  spirit  stirred  in  him  to  the  last — "meeting 
far  out  at  sea,  and  one  of  them  is  going  down  in 
mid-ocean."  "Not  so,"  I  replied;  "rather  it  is  this: 
one  of  them  is  about  to  enter  the  haven  of  peace, 
while  the  other  is  left  to  toss  upon  the  uncertain 
deep."  Then,  as  if  girding  up  his  loins,  he  said 
bravely,  "I  have  cast  my  ^nq  fatherless  children 
upon  the  Lord,  and  all  shall  be  well." 

His  heart  now  began  to  stir  again  with  longings 
to  depart,  and  with  the  high  praises  of  his  God. 
When  we  had  prayed  together,  he  said  in  his  old 
familiar  way,  "  Man,  I  don't  get  singing  enough. 
I  want  to  sing :  will  you  help  me  ?  "  I  agreed  to 
sing  with  him  the  hymn,  "  Shall  we  gather  at  the 


Lifes  Last  Hours.  389 

river  ?  "  But  before  singing  he  insisted,  with  that 
warmth  of  genuine  hospitahty  that  characterized 
him,  on  my  partaking  of  refreshment.  Just  then 
he  was  seized  with  cramp.  We  seemed  to  hear  a 
voice  saying,  "  The  Master  is  come,  and  calleth  for 
thee."  Quickly  his  wife  and  sister  were  by  iiis 
side.  "  Our  friend  is  in  deep  waters,"  said  his  kind 
Christian  physician  whom  I  ran  to  fetch.  So  in- 
deed it  was :  but  his  feet  were  firm  upon  the  rock. 
The  everlasting  arms  were  underneath  him.  "  Lord 
Jesus,  come  quickly !  Oh,  come  quickly ! "  he  several 
times  exclaimed.  Quickly  the  Lord  Jesus  came  and 
took  him.  Our  hymn  was  not  sung.  He  went  to 
sing  by  the  river :  and  we  were  left  to  Aveep. 

On  the  16th  day  of  September,  just  as  the  sun  was 
going  down,  Duncan  Matheson  disappeared  from 
our  view  to  shine  in  another  sphere.  Thus  de- 
parted a  right  brave  and  great-hearted  man — the 
man  who  above  millions  had  lived  for  God,  the 
man  who  above  most  men  had  labored  for  souls 
and  for  eternity.  "Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die 
in  the  Lord  from  henceforth :  yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors:  and  their 
works  do  follow  them." 

In  accordance  with  his  own  wish  the  funeral  was 
a  private  one.  On  the  21st  September  a  few  friends, 
not  witliout  prayers  and  praises,  and  tears  and  sore 
pangs  of  grief,  quietly  carried  him  to  the  new  burial 
place  at  Scone,  and  laid  him  down  in  a  pleasant  spot 
chosen  by  himself     His  friend,  the  minister  of  the 


390  His  Epitaph. 

Free  Church  at  Scone,  having  oiferecl  prayer  by  the 
grave,  the  company  joined  in  singing,  "There  is 
rest  for  the  weary,"  two  of  the  evangeHst's  own  con- 
verts, a  preacher  and  a  student,  both  devoted  to  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  leading  the  praise.  So  we  left 
him  there  to  rest,  and  truly  he  sleeps  well. 

His  grave  is  marked  by  a  plain  monument  on 
which  is  inscribed,  as  prepared  by  himself,  the  fol- 
lowing epitaph: 

"In  Memory 

of 

Duncan  Matheson, 

Editor  '  Herald  of  Mercy,' 

and 

Evangelist. 

Bom  at  Huntly,  Nov.  22d,  1824. 

Born  again,  Oct.  26,  1846. 

Died  Sept.  16tli,  1869. 

"And  they  that  be  -wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament: 

and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars   forever  and  ever 

pan.  xii.  3)." 

Keader,  if  you  are  not  in  Christ,  ponder,  I  pray 
you,  "the  path  of  your  feet."  As  we  part,  I  will 
leave  the  Scottish  evangelist  at  his  old  post,  with 
his  hand  pointing  you  to  the  way  of  life.  You  re- 
member the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  in  which  He 
describes  the  wide  and  strait  gates  (Matt.  vii.  13, 
14),  and  by  a  few  master-strokes  portrays  the  char- 
acters, ways,  and  eternal  destinies  of  the  two  classes 
of  men,  the  saved  and  the  lost.  This  was  our  evan- 
gelist's great  burden,  and  never  did  he  preach  on  the 
broad  and  narrow  ways,  as  we  heard  him  tell,  with- 


A  Finger-post. 


391 


out  seeing  fruit.  The  substance  of  that  discourse,  so 
marvellously  owned  of  God,  he  printed  in  a  conspic- 
uous form,  which  he  held  up  everywhere  to  catch 
the  eye  of  travellers  to  the  judgment-seat.  Here 
then,  as  we  mark  the  last  footprint  of  this  faithful 
servant  of  the  Lord,  let  us  erect  his  finger-post  of 


THE   TWO 

THE   BKOAD. 

Its  gate  is  wide Matt.  vii.  13. 

Its  way  is  dark Prov.  ii.  13. 

Its  paths  are  false Prov.  xiv.  12. 

It  is  crowded  by  those 

who  forsake  God Isaiah  i.  4. 

who  do  iniquity Isaiah  lix.  3. 

who  serve  the  devil.  .John  viii.  44. 

It  leads  to  Misery Rom.  ii.  9. 

Death Eom.  vi.  21. 

Judgment . .  Matt.  xii.  36. 
Its  end  is  hell,  where 
there  shall  be  wailing 
and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Matt.  xiii.  42. 


ROADS. 

THE  NAKROW. 

Its  gate  is  strait Matt.  vii.  14. 

Its  way  is  light John  viu.  12. 

Its  paths  are  truth Ps.  xxv.  10. 

It  is  trod  by  those  who 

forsake  sin IPe.  iii.10,11. 

who   do   the  will  of 

God Matt.  vii.  21. 

who  serve  the  Lord 

Christ Col.  iii.  24. 

It  leads  to  Happiness.  .Ps.  Ixiv.  10. 

Life Matt.  vii.  14. 

Eternal  Glory.  I  Peter  v.  10. 
Its     end     is     heaven, 
where  there  is  fulness 
of  joy  and  pleasures 
for  evermore Ps.  xvi.  11. 


READER, 
Mark !     On  this  side  you  have  And  on  this  side  you  find 


Death  ! 
Damnation  I 


LefeI 
Salvation  I 


Satan  !  God  ! 

Along  which  of  these  roads  are  you  hastening ! 
for  in  one  or  the  other  you  most  certainly  are.  Are 
you  in  the  way  to  God  and  Heaven?  or  Satan  and 
Hell?  A  mistake,  if  continued  to  the  end,  will  be 
fatal.  "  For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall 
gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?" 
(Mark  viii.  36). 


392  Eternity. 

Jesus  Christ  says:  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and 
the  Hfe:  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by 
Me"  (John  xiv.  6).  "He  that  beheveth  on  Me 
hath  everlasting  hfe"  (John  vi.  47).  "Him  that 
cometh  to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out"  (John 
vi.  37).  "I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sin- 
ners to  repentance"  (Mark  ii.  17).  "The  Son  of 
man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost"  (Luke  xix.  10). 

Where  will  tou  spend  eternity? 

"For  God  and  eternity." 


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Bible  Wonders $1.25    I    Leaves  from  Tree  of  Life  .  ti.T.^ 

Nature's  Wonders    ....     1.25        Rills  from  Fountain    .     .  .     1.23 

Jewish  Tabernacle    ....     1.25    |   Giants  and  Wonders    .     .  .     1.23 

6  vols.     In  a  box.     ^7-50. 

THE  JEWEL   CASE.     By  the  Same.     6  vols.     In  g 

box.     ^7.50. 

GOLDEN    APPLES  ;   or,  Fair  Words  for  the  Young. 
By  the  Rev.  Edgar  Woods.     i6mo.     ^i.oo. 

A    LAWYER    ABROAD.      By   Henry    Day,    Esq. 

12  full -page  Illustrations.     ^2.00. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  REFORMATION,  — 1517 

to  1648.     By  Prof.  Ludwig  Hausser.     Crown  8vo.     ^2.50. 

> 

» SONGS    OF   THE    SOUL.     Gathered  out  of  many 

Lands  and  Ages.  By  S.  I.  Prime,  D.D.  Elegantly  printed  on  super- 
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THE    ARGUMENT    OF    THE    BOOK    OF    JOB 

UNFOLDED  By  Prof.  William  Henry  Green,  D  D.  i2mo 
J5I.75- 


